Loki only slept for three days, rather than a week, but that was because the days were longer on Jotunheim. He did not sleep straight through, of course. He got up, shared meals with his mother, learned more about his homeworld... and took a lot of naps. On the fourth day, he finally awoke feeling refreshed rather than vaguely ill from telepathic exhaustion. He attended a feast that evening in celebration of his own return to Jotunheim, and the return of the Casket of Ancient Winters with him. He had a very interesting conversation with Ikol about the status of the enormous illusion field at the feast. Loki had never had a real teacher in illusions and thus had never learned the more advanced theory and techniques of which Utgard-Loki was a true master. The transformation of illusions into highly realistic opaque ice sculptures was only the beginning. On Jotunheim, they also had the ability to create almost permanent illusions with the use of specially designed anchor devices. This was what made the city appear in ruins for the last thousand years, since every house was fitted with one. This was what allowed their space ships to continue smuggling operations with Nidavellir despite Asgardian embargoes and blockades. A great ring of spell-anchors was now being constructed around the designated Bifrost site to secure the illusion in perpetuity, or until it was no longer needed. Loki was amused to think that if the Jotnar kept this up, their whole world might eventually be disguised as a slag heap or something.

As interested as Loki was in learning more about Jotun history and magic, Jotun sorcerers were just as interested in him. Everyone was fascinated by his Aesir disguise, as it was vastly different from standard personal illusions. They were also keen to learn more of the Aes magical techniques Loki had mastered, in particular the sendings they had heard so much about, and the connection he had made between Jotunheim and the casket that started it all. Such connections had many potential uses after all, if the technique could be duplicated by others.

Loki's life very rapidly fell into a new rhythm. Mornings he spent studying a variety of subjects pertaining to his new home and status - magic, history, glaciology, cultural anthropology, philosophy, and engineering, to name a few - under a variety of masters. Afternoons were his own, and he largely spent them exploring this new world with the assistance of a variety of Jotnar of approximately his own age who were only too happy to show him around. He was introduced to Baugi first at his welcome feast, as some kind of cousin, and Baugi had been introducing him to more and more peers ever since. Evenings he spent with Laufey, learning more about their family and about the politics of this world, and just spending simple time together.

The shake-up came after another week, when the first Jotun ship returned from Nidavellir with news of the wider world that had not made it onto the subspace relay news networks: Asgard's Bifrost was destroyed. This was unexpected, to say the least. Nothing Loki or Ikol had done in the Observatory should have caused any kind of permanent damage. Most of the Jotnar were not concerned by the news. In fact, most took it as a good thing, but Laufey thought otherwise. Change on this scale was always concerning to a leader. For the balance of power to shift this drastically overnight, there would be consequences. Jotunheim may not suffer for it, but others would. Laufey thus immediately began arrangements to send special, secret envoys to Nidavellir, Alfheim, Muspelheim, Nornheim, and Xandar to discuss the change. All the envoys would of course be master illusionists in order to better conceal the fact that Jotunheim was unscathed in the clash with Asgard.

Before the envoys left, though, Loki had his own mission, to find out what had happened. Thus, when he met with Utgard-Loki and two other magicians the morning after the news about the Bifrost broke, it was not to learn more about illusion magic. It was so the Jotun sorcerers could observe as Loki created a sending back on Asgard. Loki sat cross-legged on the floor of his room, ignoring the three giants avidly staring at him. He regulated his breathing, and he set his thoughts on Odin. His adoptive father, strict, unyielding. Wise, for an Asgardian...or else wise in general, yet still foolish. Old but strong. Fierce but loving, and by Loki, loved. He opened his mind's eye to find himself in Odin's throne room. The council was arrayed before him, all standing, since Odin did not bother to give them chairs. The council was arguing amongst themselves, and Odin was doing nothing to control the discourse. Odin looked... sad. He did not even appear to be listening to the arguments. Thor was not there. Frigga was not there. Loki watched his father a little longer with some concern, before deciding he was not going to learn anything helpful by listening to the headless council mutter to itself. He reached for Thor instead, and found him in the training yards, along with Sif and the Warriors Three. The friends were all training in moody silence, all except Thor. Thor was sitting on a bench and turning one of Loki's knives over and over in his hands.

Loki thought for a moment, then, reluctantly, reached for Heimdall. This was more difficult, since Loki did not actually know the Watcher very well. He thought of the man's pride in his work, his stern mien, his loyalty to Odin, his resistance to change, his fear of the unknown. It took a long time to hone in on the mind he was looking for, but he found the Watcher eventually. Heimdall stood in the center of his Observatory. He was no longer watching the Void. Instead, he was staring stonily at the smashed Bifrost control panel. There was a great, Mjolnir-shaped dent in the mechanisms. Loki could see the splintered end of a spear haft several inches deep too. Loki decided Thor had hit the panel deliberately after Loki's departure, perhaps in a hasty effort to turn it off, but when he had, Gungnir was still in place.

Well, at least they knew the how. The Bifrost might still be operational if all Thor had done was hit the control panel, but Gungnir would have discharged a massive amount of energy when Thor broke it. The internal mechanisms were fried. Asgard might be able to repair the thing, but it would take a long time. Loki looked back at Heimdall and wondered if the man still had his Sight with his Observatory so badly damaged.

Finally, Loki turned his thoughts towards his mother. Frigga's mind was easy to find, warm, always loving, always welcoming, always calm... except for today. She was sitting on Loki's own bed and crying. Two attendants sat with her, but there was nothing they could do for this mother's grief. Unable to watch and not intervene, Loki willed her and her alone to see his sending and hear his words.

"Loki..." she breathed, reaching out to him. Her hand passed through his insubstantial form, but he smiled gently at her anyways.

"Hello, Mother." She sobbed all the harder, and one of her attendants took her extended hand and squeezed it. "Mother, I am fine," he said. "I am happy." As he had done on Midgard in order to touch Mjolnir before, he made his hands solid, though still invisible. He laid his palm to her face. She leaned into it. "Do not grieve..." He sighed. That was a stupid thing to say. He would be stupid in a different way. "Mother, I'm alive."

"No, you're not. You're dead! I've lost my son..." The two attendants exchanged sad looks as their queen appeared to converse with a hallucination.

"I am not dead. I am on Jotunheim. And before you ask, no, I do not need you or anyone to save me. I am staying here."

"You..."

"I am happy," he repeated. "And I'm sorry, truly I am, but I'm not coming back any time soon. Goodbye, Mother." He let his sending fade from her sight but watched just a little longer. She immediately fell to weeping again. Loki felt bad, but not badly enough to go appear before Thor and Odin as well. That would be much more foolish. He would have to check in on them again later, not least to see what happened after Frigga had a chance to talk to them, but that could wait.

He let go of Frigga's thoughts and rushed back to himself.

"Well?" Ikol asked as soon as Loki opened his eyes.

"It's true. The Bifrost is destroyed."

"How?"

"Thor did it, after I left."

Ikol's eyes widened. "I ask again, how?"

Loki shook his head, guessing the direction of Ikol's thoughts. The Bifrost was a technological wonder, and Ikol had seen the shielding in and around the Observatory. It would be very alarming to imagine anyone capable of single-handedly destroying such a device. "He smashed the control panel. I could not determine what exactly happened, but that much was obvious. The casing and the Observatory are otherwise intact."

"Alright... we should report to the Queen. And then later you can tell us more about sendings. That was very interesting, now that I had the luxury of watching without the threat of a horde of angry Asgardians breathing down our necks."

Loki's dinner with Laufey that evening after the envoys' departure was more muted than usual.

"What is on your mind?" Laufey eventually asked. Loki looked up to see his mother had finished her own meal and was watching him, still disinterestedly moving food around his half-full plate without eating it. He sighed and set his fork down.

"I'm feeling... guilty, I guess."

"For what? The destruction of the Bifrost was not your intent."

"Not for that, no. But now, Odin, Frigga, and Thor are all clearly in mourning. For me."

"Ah." Her voice was soft and sympathetic. "I know how they feel." He looked up at her, and she grimaced. "Remember, you would have had brothers and a father here if not for the war, and I thought I lost you as a babe-in-arms. It's the worst feeling in the world, losing a child."

Loki nodded. "I do not regret coming here, I think. But I regret hurting them in this way."

Laufey smiled and reached a hand to cup his cheek, smoothing back his hair with her thumb. "I think you will be able to redress their pain in time. The joy of reunion stops up much of the hurt."

Loki looked down. "I told Frigga I was alive," he admitted. He had not said a word about it earlier. "I found her crying in my old room, and I could not leave her there without saying anything."

Laufey stilled. "Did she believe you?" she finally asked.

Loki shrugged. "I don't know."

"Will she be believed, if she confides in Odin?"

"I don't know. Possibly not. She was so distraught, he may well conclude it was a hallucination, even knowing my skill with sendings."

Laufey sighed. "I wish you had not taken this risk, but I understand why you did." She smiled. "I might even say it speaks well of your character, that your heart may be moved by sympathy even when your mind tells you 'twould be foolish."

"It was foolish."

"And it is done. It cannot be undone, so the question is what the consequences will be." She leaned back and drummed her fingers on her knee, thinking. Finally, she shook her head. "There is nothing for it. We will wait another day, but you will have to check in on your adoptive family again." She smiled slightly. "This time, you will speak to no one," she chided gently. "You will perform the sending in my presence, and we will confer immediately about what you observe. We will make the decision together whether, and when, to make contact. Safely."

Loki nodded instantly. "Yes, Mother."

"Tell me again what you heard, Frigga," Odin sighed. Odin had been quietly holding his wife as she cried on his shoulder in their bedroom for the ten minutes Loki had been uncomfortably watching. He was about to give up when Odin finally spoke.

Frigga sniffed. "It was Loki's voice, and his face I saw. He said he was alive! Oh, Odin, bring him back to me!"

"What else did you hear?" Odin asked. His expression was one of worn-down grief. He did not believe Frigga, Loki observed, with a twist in his gut.

"He said he was on Jotunheim... and that he was happy, and sorry, and not coming back." She started sobbing again. "Why, Odin? Why if he lives will he not come back?"

"He does not live," Odin answered stonily. It was breaking him to force his wife to accept his grim reality. "If he survived the Bifrost, then he landed in a tortured, breaking, and burning wilderness on a hostile planet." He hugged her tighter as her tears intensified. He kissed her hair. "And if he does live, and you heard true, then it is as he told you. He is happier there and does not want to come back." Odin squeezed his eyes shut against his own tears. Norns, this was a wretched thing to watch.

"Why? Why would he not?"

"Because he was not happy here," Odin murmured. "Frigga... oh, my wife, we failed him. You were right. We should have told him about his heritage. When he confronted me in the Vault about it, he was angry, and he was frightened. I never knew he feared me, and I never knew he felt... judged for being who he is." Odin shook his head. "If he lives, we will take him at his word, that he is happy, until and unless Heimdall can See otherwise. If he is dead... and he is dead, my poor queen... then we cannot sacrifice the peace he won for us, particularly now from this position of weakness. If you must hold out hope, then hope he will voluntarily return when he is ready." He kissed her hair again. "And say nothing to Thor."

"You want him to keep believing he killed his own brother?" Frigga asked heatedly, pulling back a little.

Odin nodded sharply. "Yes, because no matter what you choose to hope, I believe he did. And even if Loki lives, Thor could have killed him, which is just as bad. Now more than ever, he must think before he acts..."

"He's hurting so much, Odin. He tries not to show it, but he is."

"I know he is, but this is what must be."

"It's cruel to keep hope from him!"

"It's crueler to give him false hope, and crueler still to let him become the kind of ruler Loki thought I was. You will not oppose me in this, Frigga. Swear it."

"The last oath you made me take with regards to raising our children turned out rather badly!" Frigga accused. Her tears had finally dried in her welling ire.

"I know. But my will is firm in this. Swear it."

After an achingly long pause, she bowed to her husband, as always. "I swear," she muttered. "I will not suggest to Thor that Loki lives. Not until we have confirmation."

Odin sighed at her qualification but nodded. "Thank you. I am sorry I must ask this of you."

Loki had heard enough. He released the sending and opened his eyes to meet Laufey's expectant gaze. He managed a small smile he did not really feel. "This is good for us. Frigga believed me, but Odin does not." He quickly summarized the conversation he had overheard. When he was done, Laufey raised her eyebrows.

"Odin is wiser than I gave him credit for," she admitted. "We are very fortunate." She smiled and took his hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "This is especially good for you, dear one. When the time is right, I believe Odin and Frigga will both be receptive to you. You will be able to reconcile in time." She grinned. "Of course, we will have to craft our story well before then, since they both clearly believe the illusions so far and thus must both believe I am dead. Perhaps I can stay dead, to Odin's mind, and can be introduced as your aunt and regent, rather than your mother and queen."

Loki arched an eyebrow. "If you do, our lies will eventually become so convoluted even we will not be able to keep track of them, and I'll end up giving the whole thing away during the family reunion."

"Nonsense. Asgard has never once seen through a deliberate Jotun deception."

"How many lies have you fed them?" Loki asked curiously.

"I've lost count. It doesn't come up as often as you'd think, since they never try to make any genuine diplomatic overtures themselves."

"Odin will if and when we inform him that I live," Loki said with dead certainty.

Laufey inclined her head. "He will, but if and when that happens, it will also be time for certain deceptions to be abandoned, as part of eventual normalization of relations. We will not undo the great illusions, but we will undo the stereotypes. You will see. It will all work out."

"How do you know?" Loki asked skeptically.

Laufey squeezed his hands again. "Because I have hope, and faith. That is another skill as a leader I must teach you, I think. Not blind faith, but rather a kind of... moral confidence. Without it, the world is too bleak, people give up in the face of their problems, and so they become incapable of solving their problems and moving forward to better futures. I do not yet know how all this will unfold, but I have every confidence in our ability to navigate these strange tides."

At last, Loki found himself smiling again. Laufey's words were not rational and in fact sounded more like an Asgardian notion than anything else Laufey had yet said to him... but they were still encouraging. The difference was that Laufey's faith was both purposeful and self-aware. She did not demand Loki share her faith in a good outcome without question, only that he giver her a chance to lead him towards it. For the first time, Loki was absolutely content to follow someone else's lead.

This must be how Asgardians felt about Odin. It felt good.

Author's note: And now we're off the beaten track entirely. I'm debating still if and how to take this story forwards. Depending on how inspired I am, you might get just an epilogue or two, or you might get a sequel. Either way, there will be a bit of a hiatus from the weekly updates. I hope you enjoyed the story so far at least!

As a side note, the last Loki-Laufey conversation is a little personal commentary on demagoguery. Odin and Thor in this story both functioned as demagogues in Asgardian society, Odin being a very competent one and Thor an incompetent one, but Loki just responds very poorly to demagoguery in general (author insert :P) because he sees it as baseless self-confidence (Thor), or self-deception (Odin). Or worse, when he himself stepped into the leadership role in Asgard, his own use of demagogue-like tactics (appealing to prejudice and manipulating the desires of his inferiors), felt horribly disingenuous. Loki may be God of Lies, but not because he really wants to be an Asgardian Machiavelli. Thus, his comfort when seeing an alternative and more positive leadership style that balances rationality, emotional stability, and some measure of moral rectitude.