All for you, Brother

by Phandom-Doodles

When Loki is sentenced to death, Thor desperately wants to save him. He finds a way but Loki isn't so sure. (Slash, dub/con or non/con, possible TW, the dark stuff is mostly the first chapter, then everything else will be aftermath, Mpreg, MxM, descriptions of graphic birth and child death, don't like, don't read.) This is a dark fic. Do not take that warning lightly.

25. Chapter 25

A/N: Wow, okay what can I say? This is it, the end. I know some things get left open, just be sure that this was done intentionally.

I can only thank you repeatedly until it becomes annoying for sticking with me and this story, I never once thought it would do half as well as this, so really, honestly and truly, thank you!

I am currently working on more writing; I will most likely be posting a story with different one shot prompts in each chapter that were given to me by users on ao3. If anyone has a prompt they wish to give (any pairing/characters within the avengers universe, others can be added if I know them) then just leave them in the comments section and they will be added to the list. (they're mostly porn prompts so say if you don't want porn, or there will definitely be porn hehe)

There's not much else I can say without getting boringly repetitive so I will let you go and discover the end. I do hope you enjoy it. Feel free to leave my any ideas of what you think happened to them. There most likely will not be a sequel to this since I don't really think one would be necessary, or work, I guess you will see why.

…..

"Mother." Loki said as they walked. She slowed down a little to listen to him better.

"What I said before, I still don't want you to go in, I don't wish for you to see." She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Don't be silly, that may not even become a necessary request."

She wasn't like she had been just before his execution. Then she had been a wreck, barely holding anything together but now she walked with grace, a confidence in her step that confirmed his suspicions.

"Ørgrandr Fróðleikr?" He asked simply. She cast him a sideways glance and a barely noticeable smile, more like she just pursed her lips tightly. So Odin had managed to bring the original sentence back, albeit some months early but still. He had said that he'd given Loki this sentence because he believed that when the time it came to the test, Loki would be able to pass it. He wondered if the old king still believed that.

"If this doesn't..." He said slowly. "If this doesn't go well...can you be the one to tell them? Especially Kalda, go to them in person before they can hear it from anyone else." He wouldn't want her to hear it from some guard, laughing about it as he walked down the corridor past their rooms or something.

He heard Frigga tut a little, as though to disagree that it would be necessary and she didn't want to have to agree to such things but she sent him a look and then nodded.

They arrived at the doors of the courtroom and Loki stopped, turning to his mother, he took her hands.

"Don't go in, please mother. I don't think this will...I don't think I can...please, do not go in there." Frigga placed her hands on his face.

"Try to think, Loki, before you answer their questions. You will not be able to speak anything but the honest truth but try to give yourself a moment to think about everything that has happened, think about what you have done, what was done to you. Think about Thor, think about Kalda. There is no rush on your answers but you must answer them carefully, for there will be no second chance."

That didn't really answer his request but he knew she wouldn't wait outside. After all, he learned his stubbornness from somewhere. He looked down and she took him into her arms.

"I love you, my son. You can do this, I know you can." He didn't bother trying to explain the only thing going through his mind right now, the fact that he wasn't even sure how he felt about everything. They would ask him a question, or a few questions and their own wording would be as important as his.

"I'll be right there." She whispered in to his ear. "You are not alone, my boy, you never were." He didn't feel any better but he appreciated her attempted words of comfort. He knew he'd always had her; she loved him no matter what, like she did with Thor, just as a mother would.

He held her tighter for a moment before pulling back and she held his face again, looking deep into his eyes for a long few seconds before she closed her own, lowering her head, she let him go and walked away. She had to enter through a different door to get to her place.

A couple of minutes later, he heard the entrance doors open and the guards' lead him forward. There were not many people in the room this time. Odin was there, standing by a chair that Loki assumed was where he himself, was to sit. Next to that same chair, on the other side, stood the executioner, freshly sharpened blade in his hands. He was a large muscular man, his face hidden by a bulky iron mask, as was tradition. He had seen many executions, but he had never been in these courtrooms, not during a trial anyway, he didn't really know what was about to happen.

Only the necessary people from the courts were present, plus a couple of witnesses, otherwise the huge room was empty. Every footstep of his echoed loudly and all eyes were on him.

He was right about the chair and he was brought up to Odin and told to sit. The chair was rather old and battered but it was also very thick and wooden and held together with metal. Loki wasn't sure why such a shabby chair was being used, maybe as some kind of reminder of his status, he didn't know. Then again, if this was a chair that was only used for trials, then maybe torture was a life that this chair had held a lot of people through in its time. He didn't know the process of Ørgrandr Fróðleikr; it was different magic to his. It came from a different source and he had no experience with it.

He was now starting to feel a little vulnerable, but wasn't about to let that show. He sat still as the guards chained him to the old chair, he wasn't simply chained to it though, the guards removed his wrist bracers and he was clasped down flat against the arms of the chair by his wrists and more clasps up by his elbow, his hands turned so his palms and forearms faced upwards. They did the same with his legs, clasping his ankles to the legs and just under his knees too. He thought that would be it but then a final clasp was placed around his neck and he was completely attached to this chair.

He wasn't chained to it for security, he realised, they knew he couldn't be any harm to them, just the bracers that had been on his wrists were enough to stop him being an immediate threat, the excessive binding was to intimidate him, and as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, it was working. He held his expression strong though, refusing to let a slight hint of his true emotions show.

The room was silent for a few moments until one of the head of the courts men -the magistrate- stood up to address him.

"Loki Laufeyson." Loki very nearly flinched when he heard them refer to him in that way. Was that to intimidate him too? But no because that was his true heritage, he was Laufeys' son but it still sent a shiver through him. His entire life he had been Loki Odinson, and he knew he wasn't a true son of Odin, but it had never occurred to him that it would have made any difference to his name but to hear it said so simply had completely thrown him off and so he struggled to keep his resolve while they spoke.

"You have been condemned to death for the crimes listed as follows-" The magistrate spoke, in a rather bored tone. This entire situation had gone on for more than long enough and Loki guessed he wasn't the only one who simply wished for it to end. "The murder of king Laufey of Jotunheim, Attempting to destroy Jotunheim in its entirety resulting in the destruction of the Bifrost, Attempting to subjugate Midgard and its people resulting in the many deaths of mortal men, women and children." That last one hit hard, he knew that was why he was here mostly but to hear it said like that, he had caused the death of parents, children, families had been broken up because of him and he'd never really thought of it, he hadn't been in the right mind to at the time but even so, he felt his heart drop at the idea of being one of the parents, losing Kalda like that, he couldn't even imagine.

"Do you deny any of these accusations?" They asked and Loki didn't really see why since they knew he had done all of it so what was the point, even so, he still answered. "No."

"Very well, we can proceed." The magistrate said. "You will be placed under Ørgrandr Fróðleikr, a very strong truth spell, and then you will be asked a series of questions. Once under the spell, you shall not be able to lie, any attempt to do so will not be a pleasant experience for you, of that you can be certain." Loki's eyes narrowed a little. What exactly did this spell do?

"Do you have any questions before we begin?" Loki shook his head, whatever was going to happen would happen, knowing about it wouldn't change the fact.

Odin stepped forward lifted his hand up to the courts, getting their attention.

"Before we begin, there are a few things I would like to say that I think, may be of some use towards your decision." The magistrate waved his hand dismissively and nodded his head, it's not like he would refuse the king.

"I believe that the events that went on earlier today should be taken into consideration. Kalda did a very brave and clever, even if foolish and nearly fatal thing and we were all present for the scene that played out in the execution room, a fate that no parent should ever have to witness of their own child. But Loki, he did, he saw what he believed to be his daughter executed in front of all of us and I would like to be sure that this is at the forefront of everyone's minds before we continue."

Wow, Loki thought, he hadn't expected Odin of all people to stand up and speak on his behalf, even if it may not make a difference.

Odin nodded to himself and then approached Loki, lifting up Gungnir and placing the tip towards one of Loki's wrists, the trickster tensed and tried to pull his hand back reflexively, but of course he couldn't because of the bindings. Odin looked at him for a moment.

"Prepare yourself." He muttered quickly and Loki didn't really have chance to do so before the old king connected the end of the sceptre with his wrist, letting the magic of the spell flow through. The Seidr flowed out and attached itself to his skin, like living vines, and they burned, sharp searing pain slashed up his arm and some of the ends of the burning whips smashed against the chair, small chips of wood flying off, and now he knew why the chair was so battered.

The hot magic clawed its way up his arm and seemed to try and pierce into him at his inner elbow, attempting to force its way into his veins. It succeeded and he almost screamed with the pain and he struggled in his restrictive bindings, but no amount of struggling helped with anything, he couldn't move, he was stuck here, unable to stop the tight ropes of fire climbing into his arm and flowing up his veins. It was heading for his chest, he could feel it, his blood boiling and searing. He realised in this moment that the bindings were not to intimidate him, they were to hold him still and then he knew that this wasn't the worst of the pain he would feel, this was dark magic indeed.

It reached his heart and seemed to explode outwards, spreading off in different directions all over his body and he lost himself and screamed. His back arched forwards so much his neck pressed against the metal trapping him, cutting off his air but he couldn't control the movements of his body as he tensed and shook and choked. The worst of the pain was in his chest and feared his heart was going to give out any second. Then, right as he thought he was going to pass out, the fire seemed to retract into his heart and then die out and everything fell silent. His body sagged, as much as it could in the bindings, and he just breathed hard and trembled.

He became aware of Odin, still next to him and he thought he heard him call his name softly, but Loki made no move to acknowledge him. He felt sick. Then he heard Odin speak his name, clearer this time and he opened his eyes heavily and slowly drew his head up to face the courts. He spotted Frigga leaning forward in her seat some way away, looking like she was about to bolt down to him any second. Her eyes were wide, both hands up by her mouth.

"Loki Laufeyson." The magistrate said. "Speak when you are ready to proceed."

Loki spent a few seconds breathing and clearing his head. He felt strange, he would have answered immediately to get this over and done with but his body wouldn't respond to him and he was a bit worried about trying to force it after what they had said about fighting against the spell. He could feel it coiling in his chest, almost threateningly, daring him to try and fight it.

A couple of minutes later he felt a bit more settled and sat up a little straighter. "I am ready."

"Very well." The magistrate looked down at a scroll, reading carefully before he spoke. "You're name is Loki Laufeyson, correct?"

"Just Loki is fine." Loki replied before he'd even had chance to think. His eyes glanced left and he saw Odin watching him carefully. He looked back down and adjusted himself again, starting to feel much more vulnerable than he would have preferred.

"King Laufey of Jotunheim was your father by blood, was he not?" The magistrate asked, a small smile on his face that Loki wanted to wipe off violently. He grit his teeth for a moment.

"By blood." He confirmed. His mother had said to think before he spoke but it didn't really make much difference, the words as good as blurted out of him before he could try to take a second and he couldn't change an answer which was the truth, even rewording it seemed on the edge of impossible.

"Right, and knowing that he was related to you as such, you plotted and carried out the assassination of your father, king Laufey, correct?" He already knew all of this, Loki had already said that he didn't deny any of it; did they just wish to watch Loki squirm?

Loki struggled for a second, trying to hold back his answer just for a moment but he felt the magic whirling around his chest, growing more uncomfortable the longer he held. "Correct." He ground out heavily, sighing to himself when he felt the magic settle in his chest.

"And upon your fall from the Bifrost-" Loki's hands slowly curled into fists, his nails pressing into his palms. He knew what was coming. "You fell out of the galaxy it seems; Heimdall himself could not see you. Then some time later, you appeared on Midgard, where you attempted to subjugate earth and make yourself king, correct?"

"Correct."

"So-" He continued, the infuriating smile on his face still hadn't left. "There was quite some time between your fall from the Bifrost and your appearance on Midgard. Where were you?" And there it was, Loki had known it was coming but he did not want to answer. He struggled, the magic in his chest unravelling again flaring up and burning him on the inside. He made a growling noise as he tried to hold it back but it just got worse, hotter and hotter until he was struggling not to yell, but he knew that if he spoke, it could only be an honest answer. He tried to think, but his head couldn't clear when there was such pain in him.

"Don't fight it, Loki." He heard a voice that sounded like Odin's say. Loki needed to get his head together, he wanted a moment to think and he wasn't getting it because as soon as an answer burst out of his mouth, the next question was being said and his head felt overstuffed and he couldn't breathe properly and then he realised he was actually holding his breath. He forced himself to focus, right, what did the, magistrate ask? It was all in the wording right? He asked him where he was between the Bifrost and Midgard; the question didn't need a huge answer because he hadn't asked for detail...yet.

"I was with Thanos." He let out with a huge breath and almost groaned with the relief of the magic cooling down in his chest, almost seeming to purr at him or something.

"And where was that?"

"I don't know." He let his reply come immediately, he was still breathing heavy and there was no way he could try and hold back again so soon.

"What happened to you while you were with Thanos?" He struggled again but he knew it was no use, they were going to get it out if him and there was nothing he could do.

"At first they...they thought I was a threat...they beat me, tortured me to find out who I was and why I was there and I told them. When they finally believed me, Thanos said...he said he could help me get my way back up, to be the king I was supposed to be." He saw Odin shift in the corner of his eye but didn't move to look at him. "I believed him and he said I could have some of his army to help me take what was mine."

There was muttering between the few courts people, nothing that he could make out, he was hot and sweating now, his breathing not slowing down as much as before. This really was strong magic, he could feel his own Seidr trying to push the intruding power out, which of course was not going to work. This was Odin's own magic; he couldn't best it, even if he wasn't bound and weak.

"So you were controlled by Thanos, yes?" Loki shook his head, as much as he could anyway.

"Thanos influenced me, made me believe that it was possible, and gave me the arrogance to try but he was not controlling me, I was of my own mind." He said.

"You're attempts at making yourself ruler over Midgard were stopped and Thor, the man you once knew to be your brother, brought you back to face your crimes, correct?" Well, Loki thought, he didn't think that Thor realised it would be quite as bad as this, otherwise maybe he wouldn't have brought him back after all. Maybe he thought that Loki might get off a little easier for being a former prince. Loki smiled a little to himself, bitterly.

"Correct." He muttered.

"So-" the magistrate said. "With that information at the forefront of the minds of everyone present, tell us...why shouldn't you be executed?"

Loki nearly lost his face at the question. He had expected what Odin had told him he would get, did he feel remorse? He hadn't expected to have to give them a reason as to why he shouldn't die because truth be told, there wasn't one.

"I never asked not to be executed." He blurted angrily, quickly shutting himself up. The magic in his chest didn't flare up much just yet, maybe because he wasn't even sure what his honest answer was. He hadn't asked not to be executed, that was Thor's doing, and maybe Frigga's, but he himself never asked for any lenience, he knew what he had done and anyone else would have been executed, as would he, had Thor not done what he did to keep him alive longer.

He looked at Odin for a moment, the old king still watching him, the man he had believed to be his father for so long. He hated him so much for lying to him his entire life, bringing him up in a lie because he might have been of some use to him. And Loki had been so confused that day in Jotunheim, when the Jotun had grabbed his arm and it hadn't burned like he had expected, no, it broke through a glamour he didn't even know he had. In that moment he had figured it out, sure he could have been cursed but he knew, he just didn't want to admit it until Odin did. His breath hitched as a thought suddenly hit him.

"Oh gods...I was her...I was Kalda." He hadn't really intended to say that out loud, since they didn't even know what he was talking about but he was; he was the confused child questioning their existence, wondering why his 'parents' had lied to him and if he only existed to serve a purpose. And he had been so, so angry, he had hated Odin, he still did but he couldn't even begin to imagine Kalda feeling that way towards him. He loved her more than anything and even though she was pretty much forced upon him, he did not regret having her, staying alive so that she could exist. She wasn't an excuse for him to survive, she was a reason why he wanted to live at all, and there was a difference.

"If you execute me, then that is by the choice of the courts and no one will question the decision." He said. "Truthfully I don't deserve to be spared." Loki could feel Frigga's eyes on him, knowing that she was probably internally screaming at him to shut up but his words were the truth, and only the truth could be spoken.

"There have been many people who were executed for much less than me. The only thing I think could even minutely waver your decision is my daughter, Kalda. The measures that she went to..." He forced himself to breathe evenly. "That she went to in an attempt to save my life shows just how much she understands what is happening and that her say in this should be taken into account. I would die a million deaths like this, with a smile on my face every time, to never have to see her like I did today, not ever again."

The magistrate cleared his throat. "And...And under the awareness of your crimes and the consequences of your actions, do you feel remorse for what you have done?" Ahh, there was the question.

Loki huffed a small laugh to himself, and then found himself laughing more and he knew that everyone could see him. It was funny, the way his mind had processed things before, he had been a very different man, but at the same time, had these events not happened, he may just as well been that very same man. The man who so desperately wanted to be seen as equal to Thor, who wanted his father's acceptance, who wanted to at least have been considered as king. It wasn't his desires that put him here though, that made him who he was, it was how his own jealousy had clouded his judgement and now that he looked back at himself, he really could only laugh.

It all seemed so...so...he didn't even know what he thought of it now, so much had changed, he had grown accustomed to this new life, this new way of thinking and he felt now, like he would miss it. Apart from this, his life had grown quite simple and he now found that he liked it this way. There was a peace and almost tranquillity in his life now, at least there had been before the recent events and he didn't really desire to take the thrown now. He still wished to be recognised as the prince he once was and to have had some form of ruling. He was a prince, even by blood he was still a prince, not that he wanted to rule Jotunheim in any way shape or form. He really was rightfully king there too, not only was he Laufeys son, but he personally defeated the frost king himself, making him the rightful heir to the throne. But this wasn't simply about having power, it never really had been. He felt so used now, like all his life had just been building up to one moment where they could use him as their backup plan for keeping the peace and it was like he had never truly owned any of his life, and he just wanted to feel like he did.

But he went about it wrong, he hadn't thought any better at the time and still felt like his actions were justified at the time, but now he looked back and had he been in the state of mind he was in now, he wouldn't have acted as he did, that was simply it.

"It took a long time for me to be able to get the point where I could answer that question truthfully, to myself before anyone else." He started. "I was so unsure for so long and I thought I had reached the answer after I found out I wasn't of the Asir, not the answer I wanted, but I thought that was it, that I was done for and I wasn't ready to sit down and accept that, and I'm still not. I refuse to accept that my life was all for nothing, just some fluke possibility that I could become some form of an alliance between Asgard and Jotunheim.

"As for my emotions, how angry I felt, and betrayed, I do not regret them. My feelings were understandable in my situation even if my actions were irrational, which brings me to the point of all of this. I couldn't understand why I still felt that my actions were right, but I realised that it wasn't the actions themselves but my means of dealing with the emotions I harboured. It was not my intention to break apart families, to end the lives of many mortals, I wanted recognition, I wanted someone to hear what I was saying, and not just the words. My actions were wrong, that much is clear but in my mind at the time, I felt clear, I felt like what I was doing was a good idea and I am not remorseful for believing that. My sense of remorse goes to the people I hurt, to the lives I destroyed, they were not a part of it and my anger shouldn't have affected them."

There was nothing but silence for a few seconds and Loki was beginning to think that maybe he had said too much. That was quite the speech, and his words had surprised even him. He assumed it was the spell but he felt strange, like he had just sat back as his thoughts were displayed in front of the courts. He had never been quite sure about where he stood with his opinion of himself and what he had done but he guessed that this was it, he felt the magic coiling around, not threatening him now, he had said his bit.

"Very well, anything you wish to add?" Loki just shook his head the small amount he could. They turned amongst themselves, muttering and making their decision. There was a long, tense wait before they finally turned back to face him. Loki sat very still, keeping his resolve. No matter what happened, he would not lose face. They turned back, the magistrate still looking bored and more than finished with this trial.

"Right, we seem to have come to some form of unanimous decision. We believe you do show a sense of remorse, whether it is enough, maybe not but of course you cannot simply go unpunished and therefore you are to remain bound to the palace grounds, under no circumstances are you to leave until it has been decided that you have earned back your trust and proven your worth." Loki heard a sharp intake of relieved breath from his mother; he could only stare towards the magistrate in a sort of numb surprise. He had thought that they would probably execute him regardless of his answers.

"Do not think that this is done, Loki Laufeyson, should you show one single hint of returning to your old ways, you will be dragged to the execution room faster than you could even begin to feel remorse. Do not waste this generosity." It wasn't even a threat now, it was a promise. There would be no more trials, no more chances, one wrong move and he was dead, at least until he had proven himself to be trustworthy again.

The magistrate dismissed everyone and Odin approached Loki again, playing the sceptre against his wrist and freed him of the spell. Frigga quickly came down to him as the guards released him from the strong restraints of the chair. He felt cold and realised he was shivering after Odin had taken the magic spell away. Cold was something he had never really felt, and he had never questioned it until he became aware of his true heritage but now he felt an icy itch running through his bloodstream. Frigga rubbed her hands up his arms a bit, not that it helped in the slightest.

"It's alright, you will feel normal again in a few minutes, just give it a chance to wear off."

"Not the most pleasant of spells." He remarked, his teeth chattering a bit and Frigga hugged him close to her.

Odin moved to him again, his bracers in hand. Loki simply lifted his wrists and allowed the old king to put them back on, he knew he would have to wear them again, not that it bothered him anymore. Once they were secure, Odin moved to pull his hands away but Loki grabbed one of his wrists without thinking. He quickly let go, his gaze jumping up to meet that of the old king, who wore a slight frown.

"Uh...I...I thank you." Loki said slowly. "For your help and what you have done...I...probably would not be alive now if you hadn't and I...thank you." This time it was Odin who took his wrist in hand and squeezed it warmly, something akin to a smile moulded across his lips and then he pulled away and Loki returned to embracing his mother.

"Is it over now?" He asked, still feeling dazed and not quite sure if what had happened was true or not. Frigga held him tighter.

"Indeed it is, my son."

...

The moment Thor saw Loki walk through the doors to their rooms, he stood up and then he was there, embracing him. The hands on Loki's face didn't faze him, a move his mother often made towards him, the strong lips on his own however, he hadn't really expected since he and Thor were not really the type to act in that way towards each other. But there they were, Thor's thumbs stroking his cheeks and fingers scratching the back of his head a little as their lips melded hard together. Then the blond pulled back and pulled him to him, wrapping his huge arms around Loki's shoulders, the younger man's face squishing into the strong chest.

"I knew you could do it, Loki. I knew it!" Loki wasn't sure he had heard Thor sound this excited since they were youths and he had just made a huge kill when they went hunting but Loki figured that after everything that had happened, everything that Thor had done and risked to try and save Loki, he was bound to be more than relieved to find that Loki would survive after all.

"Thor-" Loki wheezed. "Thor...I can't breathe." Thor quickly pulled back with an apologetic sound and smiled sheepishly.

"Ma gets to stay?" Kalda asked coming over to them both. Loki lifted her up, hugging her close.

"Yes." He said quietly to her. "Ma gets to stay."

...

Frigga had food sent up to them, since none of them really felt much like going down to the royal dining hall and socialising. It had taken the food arriving for Loki to realise that he hadn't even eaten since the small meal he had barely touched in his cell before going to see his daughter for what he believed to be the final time.

So much had happened in this day; he was still half convinced that he was going to wake up any second by a guard coming to tell him it was time for the execution. He felt somewhat disconnected from everything, like he was sitting outside of the window, looking in at them sitting together and eating.

It was rather late anyway and they decided to call it a night not long after. Kalda asked if she could lay with them in their bed for a while, which of course they were happy to do. Loki really wanted to explain to her that he hadn't had her to use her without explaining what really happened. She wouldn't understand the concepts of non-consensual sex yet but she would learn what it is eventually and he didn't want her to hate her father for what he had done. Thor had made his mistake yes, but it was to Loki and Kalda did not need to be part of that bit.

"You know we love you." Loki muttered, laying in bed and stroking Kalda's hair. He hadn't transformed into his Jotun self because Thor was laying next to him with Kalda in between them. She was still in her true form but Thor was fine because he wasn't touching her much, or if he was it wasn't for too long and he could bare to be near her without feeling too cold. "More than anything, we really do."

"I know." She nodded sleepily, her eyes closed. She wasn't pushing him away and she hadn't acted differently towards either of them since he had returned so he figured that she wasn't too angry with him, certainly not like he had been with Odin but he still felt a strong need to explain to her, tell her that it didn't change anything, he was so glad that she was here and she was his little girl.

"I know it's confusing for you at the moment, and hopefully one day you will be able to understand but I need you to know that you are so much more to us than an escape from execution, truly."

He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head and she brought a hand up to hold one of his own, lifting her head up, she placed his hand against the pillow and lay her face against his palm. "I love you too." She whispered before settling, her breathing becoming slightly deeper. She was done with conversation for the night, she was done with the entire day, as they all were and he let her fall asleep on his hand, moving his fingers against her skin every now and then, smiling to himself when he felt her grip on his wrist tighten.

...

Gradually, Loki settled back into the life that had developed during the six years of Kalda growing up, except now, there was no waiting to be executed, only waiting for the day when he would finally be free to exist and move around at his own will. For now though, he could care less, he simply wished to focus his time on raising his daughter and helping to earn back his trust.

He and Thor continued as they were, allowing themselves to explore the physical pleasures with each other but Loki still made it clear that he and Thor would never truly be, though it almost felt like they already were sometimes. When Thor had asked for Loki to put that into words, he had simply said that he would never marry him and they would never declare their love for each other. Thor often did so to Loki anyway.

Odin had decided to relieve all guards that had been with them for more than fifty years, which was most of them, and set Loki himself, the task of training the new ones. He disciplined them and taught the ones who didn't know how to fight from an attack and defence perspective. Most of them knew attack, as was expected since a lot of them had army backgrounds and training but not many of them had ever paid that much attention to defence and resistance. He found that he quite enjoyed it, having never really expected to have the patience for teaching, but he was good at it, and they respected him as their teacher and superior, regardless of his current status as prisoner.

The training, it turned out, may have become very necessary when one of Odin's messengers came running into the royal dining hall one evening whilst they were all eating, out of breath and slightly panicked.

"Master, master!" The boy had shouted, nearly tripping over himself as he ran over to the king, quickly kneeling down before him, one arm crossed against his chest. "Master, we have received word that Jotunheim knows of the existence of the daughter of Prince Thor, the child they call 'the half-breed princess'. They send warning of their departure to Asgard but they said not of their intentions." Loki's head had shot up the moment he heard the word Jotunheim, now he was standing, moving himself automatically next to Kalda's chair protectively.

He watched Odin, waiting for his word on how to proceed.

"When did their word arrive?" The king asked the young messenger.

"Just now your majesty, I came here right away."

"They would've had to have sent it this morning for it to arrive now, they could arrive anytime. Right, Loki take Kalda to your quarters, Thor go with them. You will be sent for when we know what they want." Loki didn't wait to see what Odin planned to do, he quickly ushered a confused Kalda out of her seat and picked her up to take back to their quarters.

"What do you suppose they want?" He asked Thor as they walked back into their rooms. Frigga had stayed with Odin to greet the Jotnar that would arrive and guards had been called up and some of them sent with Thor and Loki, just in case they should be needed.

"They seem to have an interest in Kalda, whether they feel positively about her existence or not, I do not know. Maybe they are interested in some form of an alliance, having someone like Kalda ruling over both realms would be much more of a negotiation than choosing from either side. Honestly, it's amazing we kept her a secret for this long, I always thought they would discover her much sooner." Thor suggested, trying to keep things more positive sounding, Loki could tell he wouldn't want him to get too worried, but Loki had a bad feeling about this. If they saw her as a threat to them for whatever reason, they wouldn't be too happy about her being around and the prince's daughter no less.

"Is she even a real heir to the throne?" Odin had never said whether she would be in line to the throne or not and Loki just assumed she wouldn't, but she was currently the only child of the prince and the only next potential heir after Thor.

"I would expect so, what reason would he have to turn her away? Plus he wanted this didn't he, us to rule together, produce an heir who was a mix of the two races and that's exactly who she is." Loki nodded subtly in agreement. He just hoped that whatever they wanted, it wasn't going to end in bloodshed, on their behalf of course, there was no way they would get their hands on his daughter without one Hel of a fight!

They sat in quiet anticipation for a while before they heard footsteps heading towards their door. Loki was on his feet, Kalda pushed behind him in the next second. He relaxed only slightly upon seeing that it was guards who entered.

"The Jotnar say that they mean no threat, they wish to meet Kalda." The head guard said almost timidly.

"And what business is it of theirs?" Loki snapped, knowing it wasn't the guards fault but he didn't care.

"I was ordered by the All father to bring you to them. He said to assure you that it is safe and no harm will come to you or the child." Loki threw an unconvinced look to Thor who sighed and stepped forward, he picked up Mjolnir before gesturing to Loki to follow.

"Nothing will happen to her, I promise." He tried to comfort the dark haired god. Loki looked down at Kalda who was watching them all, clearly very confused and then he realised, she had never seen a full sized pure Jotun before.

Loki sighed and picked Kalda up to follow Thor and the guards.

There wasn't as many of them as he had expected. There was maybe seven or eight of them all together, most of which were in either wearing battle armour, guards Loki thought, or they were wearing some very dank and drab slave clothing. Two of them though, they were dressed very differently, adorning partial armour, clearly of much more worth than that of the guards, along with much more decorative and cultural clothing. These were the leaders, it was clear in the way that they dressed, they way they held themselves, and everything else.

It was only the two more extravagant looking Jotnar that turned their heads upon hearing Thor, Loki and Kalda enter the throne room, their eyes trailing over the blond prince, then lingering on Loki for a moment before their attention was on their daughter.

Loki heard a small gasp come from Kalda and knew she had realised what they were. He held her closer to him as they walked past the Jotnar to go and stand near the all father and mother by the throne.

There was silence for a few seconds once they had stood in front of their guests before one Jotun, who looked a little older, stepped forward to them. Loki put Kalda down, and ushered her slightly behind him warily.

"Thor, Loki..." Odin stood up and walked almost to the bottom of the steps from the throne, leaving himself still slightly above everyone else. "Meet the two kings of Jotunheim, Helblindi and Býleistr Laufeyson." He quickly cast Loki a sideways glance as he spoke their surname.

"Prince Thor." The elder Jotun -assumably Helblindi- greeted him politely with a half bow. Thor did not return the gesture, nor did he acknowledge them, for he was too busy looking between them and Loki with a frown. Loki's eyes were wide as he stared at them. He stepped forward a little.

"Laufeys' sons?" He repeated knowing exactly what that meant. Helblindi turned his attention to Loki, approaching him but stopped quickly when he saw Loki take a step back, making his daughter step back behind him.

"You are Loki, mother of the young princess?" Loki nodded cautiously. "Then you are Laufeyson also and we are brothers." He said with another small bow. Loki could only to continue to stare incredulously at him.

Odin made a small uncomfortable sound and Loki's glance shifted to him for a moment but quickly jumped back to Helblindi when Kalda shifted out of his grip to walk towards the Jotun king. "Kalda." Loki warned, desperately wishing she would come back.

"And this-" Helblindi added, looking down, his red eyes on the approaching child who was staring at him with an expression much more full of curiosity and wonder than Loki's. "Must be the half Jotun princess of course. Tell me; what is your name, little one?"

"Kalda." She answered quietly and then she lifted one hand up a bit. "Are you like me?" She asked.

Helblindi kneeled down to her height, raising his own hand and offering it to her. "Indeed I am." He answered as she pressed her tiny hand against his very large one and then played with his fingers, watching him with wide eyes. "You're big." She said and he chuckled. Thor threw a quick glance at Loki who looked about ready to bolt to her any second. He kept himself in check though, and Kalda seemed to be doing just fine.

"And you are beautiful." The other Jotun, Býleistr said also approaching to look at her better. "Her skin is lighter than ours, her markings more shallow." He noted to his brother.

"And look." Kalda said, closing her eyes and allowing her glamour to take over to her Asgardian form. She smiled up at them but their smiles faded and they looked up at Loki.

"You would hide who she is?" Loki quickly shook his head.

"We are teaching her to use her Seidr, this is simply part of what she learned, it is all her choice." So that was mostly the truth, he decided to leave out the part about doing the glamour for her before, since they didn't seem too keen on the idea. Their eyes narrowed slightly but they appeared to accept the answer and returned their attention to Kalda, who transformed back and continued to ask them questions about why they were so big and why they dressed different. They answered her patiently and laughed at her openness. Loki looked at Frigga, completely confused as to why this was going well, but she simply smiled warmly at him before Loki's attention was snatched back by Helblindi picking up his daughter.

"Alright-" Loki warned. "Tha-that's enough, Kalda come here." The older king looked at Loki for a moment before nodding his head once and placing Kalda on the floor who came running over to Loki, a big smile on her face. "They're like us ma, just like us!" She said excitedly. "They're much bigger though." And even Loki had to smile at her, just like pretty much everyone else in the room. He was completely baffled by her reaction to them, her confidence, half expecting her to have been shy and wary of the giant kings but he couldn't have been more wrong.

Helblindi stood up and addressed both Loki and Thor. "We thank you for allowing us to meet your daughter, she is most charming. As for you, all father-" he turned to the old king. "Assuming you intend for her to become heir to the throne after her father, there may be discussions to be had at a later date. Now, we thank you for your hospitality and bid you farewell...for now." They bowed again before Býleistr turned back to Loki.

"It was nice to meet you...brother." He said with a small smile, Loki couldn't decide if it was mocking or genuine and it made him feel more than uncomfortable and a little angry but he didn't dare speak after things had gone as well as they had so he simply nodded to him and watched as the Jotun guards turned and escorted the kings back out, some of Odin's own guards going along to ensure they did as they said.

There was complete silence after they had left, not a single one of them knew what to say.

"Well-" Odin said slowly after a few drawn out moments. "That could have ended a lot differently. You are one brave little girl Kalda."

...

They hadn't spoken much of what had happened for the rest of the day, and then Loki had put Kalda to bed, she had still asked him a few questions about them which he answered as best he could. He had let her sit with them on their bed and stroked her head until she had drifted off to sleep and then Thor had carried her to her own bed. Then he and Loki were left to themselves, it was late anyway and they decided to call it a night, washing up for bed and getting comfortable.

Loki turned to Thor after a while, he couldn't get to sleep and by the blonds deep breathing, he was the only one, still, he couldn't get the thoughts from his mind.

"Do you think they really mean well or were putting on a front to earn our trust?" He asked and Thor shifted a little, not sitting up to answer him though.

"I don't know." He muttered sleepily. "When they spoke to father, they said something about if he intended for her to become heir to the throne. Maybe they wanted to be sure that she was going to be considered and not shunned for her Jotun heritage. Maybe they do wish to form an alliance."

Loki hummed, his mind still whirling with the possibilities. If what Thor said was true, that they had been expecting her to become heir to the throne, then finding out that she wasn't could have been would have likely ended in a much less 'pleasant' conversation. So he could only assume that Odin would have told them exactly how it was.

And it wasn't really Odin's decision, it was Thor's, she was his daughter, he would be king next, he would decide and of course he would want her as the next heir. With how smart and brave she was, they couldn't really turn her down.

"You're worrying." Thor mumbled, dragging one arm over to stroke at Loki's shoulder in a weak attempt to comfort him.

"I know but I can't help it, if they had been displeased with her position or anything at all, they could easily declare war, not that they would want the mess but we don't know them, Odin doesn't know them like he knew Laufey, those two went back years, who knows what they would do?" Thor turned round to face Loki, bringing a hand up to stroke his hair, he knew the younger man had always liked it when Frigga had done it for him as a child but Loki quickly slapped his hand away.

"They're my brothers." He murmured. "I barely know anything about them yet they're my blood."

"They might be blood." Thor said. "But they will never be more a family to you than we are, we know you better than you know yourself, they know nothing." Loki was only slightly pleased with how riled up Thor seemed to get at his words.

"What if Laufey had never abandoned me, what could my life have been like? How different would it have been?" They were rhetorical questions; he didn't actually expect Thor to have the answer but the blond spoke anyway.

"Your life would have been completely different, as would've ours, but that didn't happen, Laufey did abandon you, my father found you and you are one of us, always have been and always will be." He answered determinedly and Loki figured that it was best to stop thinking of what ifs and possibilities that never were or could be. This was his life and it sure as Hel was not perfect, and it sure as Hel was never going to be perfect, there was a lot to come, he knew but somehow, he also knew that they would survive, as they had always done. They would be alright.

Epilogue

...

"Loki?" Thor blinked his eyes slowly, waking himself up. He had heard a strange noise and only just cracked his eyes open in time to see Loki running away from their bed and out of sight. He sat up, scratching at his head, quickly looking at Kalda who was sleeping soundly in her own bed. Loki hadn't been feeling too well for a few days, Thor was always going on at him about going to the healers but Loki insisted it was just a common stomach bug and would shift soon enough.

Thor stood up, he was only wearing the lower half of his sleeping gowns but he figured that it didn't really matter. He realised that Loki had disappeared in to the washroom, where he heard a small crash of things hitting the floor. Quickly entering the washroom, his eyes fell upon an also half naked Loki, his head halfway into the toilet bowl as he emptied the contents of his stomach. There was general washroom items scattered around him that he must've knocked off on his speedy way in.

Thor moved over and rubbed the younger gods back soothingly, trying to pull his hair out the way as best he could. After a minute Loki was just breathing harshly and spitting every now and then, and Thor fetched him some water to rinse his mouth.

"You alright?" He asked gently as Loki made low noises that sounded like he might go back to the toilet bowl any second.

"I think...ugh gods...I think I'm alright." He rinsed his mouth again and sighed. "What did we eat last night?"

"It was roasted turkey, but we all had it and I know I ate much more of it than you did, I feel just fine." Loki closed his eyes and dropped his head tiredly.

"Come on." Thor said. "Get you back to bed, bring the water with you." Loki nodded sluggishly and followed Thor back into their rooms.

Thor drifted off into a light sleep; he wasn't sure how long for before he heard Loki run off to the washroom again, followed by the sounds of him being violently sick again. He sighed and forced himself up to go and tend to the ill man.

"Th-Th-" Loki tried to say but was cut off by another bout of puking, his body convulsing as he dry heaved, his stomach now empty. He took more sips of fresh water that Thor fetched for him.

"Thor...you don't think..." Loki closed his eyes and held his stomach for a moment, a small frown on his face, as though he was trying to look for something...

Loki's face shot back up with a gasp, his eyes going wide as he stared at Thor in shock.

"What?" Thor asked dumbly but Loki's reaction hit him as he said it and then his own expression changed as his jaw dropped open wide in his own surprise.

"Really?" He asked, not sure whether to smile or not since the other man still looked completely horrified.

"I never even thought..." Loki started and then just stared at Thor, not knowing what to do. Thor's open mouth slowly spread into a grin as the realisation hit him like a collapsing building. "What?" Loki asked but then his stomach heaved again and he quickly twisted back to the toilet. Thor continued to rub his back, a silly grin on his face.