Loki was right about Thor not dropping by to see him. It seemed as though Thor believed he had sufficiently broken Loki and his desire to get to Vara that he never even questioned the truth.

It was three months before he had even noticed that something was wrong at Loki's palace. The lights were never on and there seemed to be very little food gone from day to day. One day, he decided to drop in to see if his brother was well and he found that he was gone, only the mask was left lying on his bed. Thor looked around; there was no note, but he knew exactly where Loki would go. There was only one thing that would make him want to get away from Asgard and risk his life if caught. His family with Vara. Thor stormed back to the main palace and began to arrange a small group of the best fighters they had. No doubt Vara would have her men fight back when they came for Loki. They had to plan this carefully. Loki had all his powers back and he had spoken about trying to teach Vara to use her magic to her full potential. They would be a lethal combination if they played for the same side.

Vara and Loki were sitting out in a pergola made of white marble. She had ordered it built in front of her palace, where she could see the Central Volcano and the Bifrost site from. It was also cool, which Loki found appealing. Especially when he conjured a block of ice for the middle of the pergola floor.

Eldur stood as tall as Loki's hip now, and he was beginning to be able to speak. He was very shy and only spoke in front of Vara and Loki. He could stand up on his back legs and extend his wings, but had yet to learn to fly. His legs would also give out after a few seconds of standing on two legs. He was growing quickly into a handsome young dragon, with the tip of two little horns just sticking out the top of his skull.

"When will I be ready to fly dad?" Eldur whined to Loki, jumping from seat to seat and to floor to roof. He had so much energy to burn; it was quite funny to watch him.

"When your wings are strong enough to carry you Eldur." Loki said, leaning against a post with Vara at his side, his arm wrapped around her waist and she was leaning into him. They valued these times when he spoke. It was when he real personally shone through his shyness.

"When will that be?" Eldur whined and stopped in front of them. He was huffing and puffing. It always made Loki jump, knowing what the other dragons had died of but he was just unfit.

"When you're fitter, lazy boy." Vara said, poking him with her foot on his arm.
"Besides, you have hundreds of years to learn how to fly." Vara smiled and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his nose.

"Soon you'll be soaring over Central Volcano, scaring the villagers." Loki laughed. Eldur laughed his deep throaty laugh and continued to play his bounding game.
Vara leaned back on the post and laid her head on Loki's shoulder.

"He's going to be so strong." She whispered to him.

"And intelligent, handsome, witty, need I go on?" he said, kissing on top of her head.
She leaned up for a kiss on the lips when Eldur said something that he usually said when he saw something he didn't understand.

"Mom, dad, what's that?" he asked.
Vara and Loki looked at him and saw that he was looking past them and towards the Bifrost site. Vara looked back, and then she stood up slowly and saw the swirling clouds start to form. Loki stood up beside her.

"Was he supposed to make a delivery today?" Loki asked her softly, trying not to scare Eldur.

"No." she said simply and looked at him.
"Take him, hide in the weapons vault." She said to Loki, ripping the key off her neck and thrusting it into his hands.

"He won't stop till he rips this place apart." Loki tried to reason with her. He knew their time was up and that Thor would find him.

"Then he rips it apart, but he must never find you two." She said, looking between Loki and Eldur.

"Mommy, I'm scared." Eldur said, stepping up to her side.
She bent down and made him look at her as the Biforst tunnel came down and hit the ground.

"I know honey. Go with your dad, he'll keep you safe." She said, looking up at Loki who nodded.
"Go." She said as she stood up again and began to make her way toward the Bifrost site.
Loki and Eldur rushed off into the palace. He stopped at the doors while Eldur ran in. He turned and watched as Vara walked up to Thor. In the dust, he could see the outline of the helmets of the soldiers Thor had brought with him.

"DAD!" Eldur called to him.

"I'm coming." Loki said, taking one last look, before rushing to the back of the throne room, to the door of the weapons vault.

"Mom is going to fight them, right?" Eldur asked Loki, without stepping into the vault.

"Probably. But she'll try and throw him off our scent first. Now go into the vault." Loki ordered his son, standing aside.

"I won't let her be killed." Eldur said, turning and rushing away from him.

"ELDUR NO!" Loki grabbed him around his waist.

"Let me go, they can't hurt her." Eldur begged him as they struggled against each other on the floor.

"Your mom is very capable of taking care of herself." Loki told him, trying to hold him back. He was already as strong as Loki.

"Thor, this is unexpected." Vara smiled as she walked up to him and his army, her heart beating in her chest, but her bravery stood firm.

"Where is he?" Thor demanded her, his hammer held at the ready for a fight.

"Who?" Vara tried to play dumb.

"Do not play me for a fool. I know he's here." He said, looking towards the palace. He looked in all the windows exposed to him. Loki had to be watching them.

"Loki?" she asked him, frowning to throw him off.
"I haven't seen him since the day I said goodbye to him at the carriages." She said to him.
"Now if you please, you're soldiers are scaring my people. Please leave." She said, looking at his soldiers. They didn't budge.

"Search the palace. He's here." Thor said over his shoulder to his men and they marched off towards the palace.

"What have I done to warrant this assault? He's not here." she begged Thor as he walked off.
She had to convince him to go and leave Loki alone.
Then they heard a bloodcurdling screech from inside the palace. They all stopped and thought before Thor turned to Vara.

"What in Odin's name was that?" he asked her. She looked around nervously.
Loki hadn't managed to get Eldur into the vault. He was still running around.

"That's Eldur. My and Loki's son." She smiled at Thor.
"He's a dragon." She added, looking to the doorway.

Eldur screeched, trying to get Loki to let him go. Loki looked out the door still holding onto Eldur and saw a few soldiers looking back at Thor and Vara. They were on their way to the palace when Eldur screeched loudly.

"Dammit Eldur. Look at this mess now." Loki said, letting him go. Eldur bounded away from him, but did not move forward. They both got to their feet and looked out at the soldiers.

"Why are they here?" Eldur asked him.

"Me." Loki said, looking to Eldur.
"Thor wants me." Loki said, walking up to Eldur.
He knelt down and looked into his son's red eyes.
"No matter what happens from here on out, know that I love you fiercely and I am tremendously proud of you Eldur." Loki said, reaching out and placing his hand on his son's scaly cheek.

"Dad, you're scaring me now." Eldur said to him.

"I know, but you will grow to be a strong, intelligent dragon. I know that you will use that for good and not follow in my footsteps." Loki said to him, a tear rolling down his cheek. This was it, the last time he would see his son. He had to tell him everything he needed to know.

"Your footsteps? Dad, why does Thor want you?" Eldur asked him, stepping up to him.
Loki looked to the door and heard that the soldiers were still standing still.

"I have not always been good. And I have to pay for my crimes. But I broke out of an Asgardian prison to be with you and your mom." He explained quickly.
"But now, I need to go back." he said, kissing him softly on his nose before standing up.
"See you around." Loki smiled at him for a few seconds before walking off to the door.
Eldur, without a second thought, jogged up beside him and walked with him to the door. Loki looked down at him when he stopped in the doorway. Eldur looked up at him.

"Together." Eldur said, extending his wings to make himself look bigger.
Loki nodded to him, proud that he would do this for him. He looked out towards Vara and nodded. She knew that he had decided to stop running and get away from Eldur and her before Thor hurt them.

"He's become quite attached to Loki." she said.

Thor's eyes widened and he looked to the doorway to see Loki and an ice blue dragon standing beside him.

"He's done nothing wrong and he just wants to live in peace with Eldur and I." she said to Thor as he stood looking unbelieving at the two of them.

"If Loki isn't under constant watch, he will fall back into his old ways." Thor said, turning his attention to Vara, angry that she was harbouring him.
"How long has he been here?" he asked her, his soldiers waiting for their orders.

"Three months, and he's been nothing but good." She said, looking to Loki.

"What are they waiting for?" Eldur asked Loki.

"Your mom is trying to convince him to let me stay." Loki said, watching them talk.

"Let him stay and I'll vouch for him. You know I will." She said. He frowned and turned to look back at Loki and the dragon.
"I just want my family to be back together." She begged Thor.
He thought about it but then Loki thought to bring the fight to him.

"Stay here Eldur." Loki said, beginning to walk towards the soldiers and Thor.
He walked towards Thor and Vara, reaching the edge of the throng of soldiers, and moved swiftly through them, unfazed as they watched him carefully as he walked up to Thor.

"I wish to talk to you. Alone." Loki said to Thor.
Loki then turned and walked back towards the palace. Thor walked after him, and the soldiers followed shortly after, leaving Vara standing alone in the slight dust welling up they had caused. A rustle of weapons from her barracks caught her attention and she looked up to see her soldiers gearing up to for a fight and she had to calm them. She waved them down and then turned and ran after Thor's men and then through the ranks of the soldiers to the front of them, to stop her men from attacking. Eldur cowered back into the darkness as the soldiers thundered into the hall. Thor eyed him as he walked past him as Loki headed towards the council room. Vara walked up to Eldur and ordered him, under her breath, to stay close to her as the Asgardian soldiers filled the throne room. She looked to the council room as Loki closed the door behind Thor. The soldiers turned and looked at Vara and Eldur.

"Is that a dragon?" one man asked her.

"Yes." she answered nonchalantly.

"How old is he?" another asked as they moved closer, eager to learn more about this fascinating little creature. They had never seen a dragon, and they wanted to see more of him, but he cowered behind Vara, and in the shadows.

Vara's eyes shot from the council room door to the eyes of the soldier in front of her.
"You do not need to know that." She said to them.
They didn't know that he couldn't breathe fire yet.

They moved closer to them and Eldur cowered behind her, his tail tucked close to his body and his wings tucked away. He was so scared, that Vara could feel his scales rubbing up against her legs as he shook.

"Not so scary now, are we?" one man said, sticking out his hand to touch Eldur.
Vara felt the anger bubble up and she raised her skin temperature to scorching and slapped his hand away, blistering his skin the second she touched him. He pulled away to see his skin still bubbling and smoking as he grasped his wrist in pain.

"You forget your place Asgardian." She said in her soft threatening tone.
They all looked up at her in shock. They had heard for their colleague that had guarded her room back when Loki first emerge from the dungeon, that she was a formidable woman, but they had clearly underestimated her. A huge mistake, they could see now.
"I am the Queen here, and you will do well to remember that when provoking my son." She said, a smile breaking over her lips.

It was the first time Eldur had ever seen his mother threaten someone. She was pretty good at it, and even he was a little scared of her after she did that. Of course Eldur knew she could raise her skin temperature, but it didn't affect him at all. In fact he liked it when she tucked him into bed if she would rub his growing and aching wings with warm hands.

"Let me stay here Thor." Loki begged Thor.
Thor walked around the room. Having never been there before, he found the room interesting, with all its scrolls and books. He would never have figured a Fire Giant to be the scholar type.

"It's too dangerous for you to be on the loose." Thor said, turning and looking at him.
"You need to be controlled and managed, in Asgard." Thor said stepping up to him.

"I wish to be here." Loki said, on the point of begging his brother, which made Thor take note and think.
He had never seen him this sincere. He really did want to be here. He had to use another trick to get Loki to give in peacefully.

"Your wives want you to come home." Thor said to him. Loki was surprised. Thor was incapable of lying so what he was saying must have been true.

"Those… those two, they came back?" Loki asked, stepping up to table and leaning back onto its top.

"Sigyn, wants you to come back." Thor changed his wording.
Loki was starting to see the holes in his words. This must have been a ploy. Loki had to work him over a little more.

"After that little deed she almost completed with Eldur. I never want to see that cold hearted harpy again." he said, folding his arms over his chest and looking at Thor.
"Besides, I never loved any of those two, in actuality. I only wanted them to hurt others. I want Vara now." Loki said, implying that he wanted to stay.

"I can't allow it." Thor said to him, turning side on.
Loki was getting to him slowly.

"You once loved me. You once called me brother. Am I correct?" Loki began to play on his feelings.

"You know I did, and still hold true to that. You will always be my brother, Loki." Thor said to him, his eyes softening slightly.

"Then for once in our lives, act upon something to attest to that, and allow me to stay with my family." Loki begged him once more.
He could see that Thor was thinking about it. He needed just one last push and then Loki could stop running. Then he remembered what Thor was trying to prevent with all these sick games. Ragnarök. He had to use Ragnarök as a selling point.

"If you make a truce with Vara, we can prevent Ragnarök and save both sides a lot of bloodshed." Loki tried to begin to talk battle strategy with him.
"I can stay here as the Asgardian liaison." Loki said, pushing the issue slightly further.
Thor looked away from Loki, thinking about his proposition. It made sense, but Thor was stubborn, he wanted Loki back in Asgard, and no matter what Loki suggested, he would be coming home with him.
"You can even make calls whenever you deliver supplies to make sure I'm not slipping back into my old ways." Loki said, sweetening the pot.

"You swear to me right now, that you will not return to your evil ways?" Thor asked him, holding up his hammer to Loki's chest.

"I swear on the life on my son, I will stay on the path of integrity." Loki said to him. It was the sincerest Loki had ever been with him. He wanted nothing but to live happily with Vara and Eldur.
"As long as Vara and Eldur live, I'll be as good as Asgardian gold." He smiled at Thor.
He was doing it; he was convincing him to let him stay. Soon it would all be over and they could all move forward.

"And what about when they depart to Valhalla?" Thor asked Loki, throwing him a slight curve ball.

"I've been working on a spell that will spare them death." Loki said, smiling.
He was pretty close to getting it right too. Soon they would be as immortal as he was.
Thor nodded once and turned away from Loki.
Loki smiled, he had succeeded. It was over. He never had to look over his shoulder again.

"I need to talk to your wife about the terms of this truce. Would you go find her?" Thor said, his back turned to Loki. Loki nodded and walked off.

The doors to the council room swung open and Vara looked over the crowd to see Loki coming through the doors. He smiled and nodded to Vara. She smiled to him and skirted the edge of the soldiers with Eldur following her shortly after.
She walked up to Loki and grasped his hands. Her hands were shaking, worried that Thor was going to take him back to Asgard and kill him.

"And?" she asked him. Loki smiled at her and Eldur.

"I can stay, if you negotiate a truce with Thor. I will serve as the Asgardian liaison here." He said, looking at her red eyes.
"It's over. I can stop running." He smiled widely at her, a look of relief on his face.
She sighed out of relief, smiled and nodded.

"Of course I'll negotiate with him." she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.
She walked off, leaving him with Eldur.
"See you now." she said, walking into the council room and closing the doors behind her.