Loki returned from the hunting trip renewed and feeling peaceful in spite of the incident with Sif and Fandral. While he would never let himself be alone with either of them, he did trust them, to a point. They both seemed calmer on the return ride home, and their demeanor towards one another was changed. Loki noted how they constantly touched each other now, in little ways. A hand on an arm, or a shoulder. A gentle caress applied to the small of the back, and an occasional possessive stroke of fingers through golden locks. Sif didn't leer at Loki like before, and for that Loki was thankful.
Things settled into a standard rhythm for Loki. He committed to his studies with everything he had. Every morning Loki met with his governess to practice his reading and writing skills. The first time he wrote a letter without assistance, it was to Thor, thanking him for all his generosity. It had taken him six months to master the written word. His governess moved on to basic mathematics, history, and the sciences. A whole new world opened up to Loki when he sat down and read his first history book. The epic battles which had been documented in all the famous bard's tales were far more gruesome and less romantic than the versions sung during dinner.
The afternoons were more varied. Some days he would meet with Frigga and practice music, dancing, and other gentlemanly pursuits. Other times he would do weapons training with his friends. In between there was always a book in his hands and he often fell asleep with his head buried in one. Once a week, Loki attended court and listened as Thor ruled his kingdom. After a few months, he disappeared into the background, forgotten by most at court. He and Thor became mere acquaintances after a while, their lives being very busy and separate. Even at court, Loki listened in silence, and only exchanged words with Thor during dinner if he was invited to the high table to dine. Time marched on.
It was in the summer of Loki's third year at the palace when he developed an interest in learning magic. It started with the books in the library, of which there was an entire section devoted. There had been times while living in the palace that he'd witnesses small acts of magic, such as the healing of wounds or a minor frivolous display done for entertainment purposes. Loki knew, however, that magic could do so much more. His belief was confirmed during festival of Desir.
It was a strange celebration. The peasants usually only celebrated the fertility aspect of the holiday by praying for a good harvest the following year. The nobles of Asgard celebrated its more salacious aspects. The other omegas in the palace all spoke in hushed whispers and would go completely silent whenever Loki approached. Something was wrong. He could sense it.
Despite the absence of certain people, the palace was still crowded with scantily clad party goers. Only he, Frigga, and Thor had on garments that kept their bodies fully covered. Loki smiled internally at that. It was the during the feast in the palace that the temple priestesses came before Thor, six of them, completely naked. Loki looked around for Frigga and saw that she had disappeared. It was then he knew that he was about to witness something he would not like.
Another male omega was brought forth into the hall. He too was naked and from the smell of him, in full heat. Loki had spied the man a time or two in recent weeks near the temple, but had not been introduced. Thor stood and spoke to the gathering.
"This year is a special year, the thousandth year since the last Golden Jubilee of Desir. It is tonight that the next generation of priests shall be bred and born to six virtuous young maidens, fathered by the most potent and virial of Aesir, a male omega. As your King and Allfather, you have my leave to begin."
An alter in the middle of the hall was covered with a soft fur and silk bedding. The trembling omega male, shaking from either fear or need, Loki could not tell, was made to lie down on the altar. His engorged prick stood straight up into the air, and without preamble, the first of the six temple priestesses mounted him. It was a ritual public orgy. Moreover, the people watching were becoming randy and Loki approached Thor with a begging expression, not for sex, but protection. Thor gestured to the empty seat next to his and Loki took it with gratitude. Thor slung his arm around Loki's shoulder and pulled him closer. Loki let out a breath he had not realized he was holding.
They watched in silence as one by one the women took their pleasure and their seed from the man on the table. It was when the last one was reaching her zenith that Loki noticed that the first woman was already swollen with child. Her cries of pains echoed through the hall and it was then that the temple priest approached her with a dagger and cut her open to extract the babe. Loki screamed in horror.
"Shh, shh, it is alright Loki."
"But he killed her."
"They are all volunteers. Their children will become power wielders of seidrmier, and they will obtain an exalted place in Valhalla. The omega that fathered the children will be sterilized and his genitals altered so that he may never again know the pleasures of the skin. He will raise his children and give them over to the temple when they reach their seventh year to begin their training. He will be given gold and branded with the seal of the temple upon his forehead so that all with know that his body is sacred. After that, his life will be his own."
"That's horrible!"
"It is sacrifice." Thor pulled Loki even closer and kissed his hair. "I have missed you."
"I feel like a child surrounded by adults."
"You are technically. I am sorry you are made to suffer desires your body cannot yet safely satisfy."
"I am sorry I cannot satisfy you."
"You can, you have, but you are not safe with me."
"You trust yourself too little. I trust you Thor. Please, take me to bed tonight. Let me pleasure you. I could use my mouth on you just the way you like." Loki begged. Thor's grip on Loki tightened and Thor growled into Loki's ear. Loki looked up at him with big eyes, his bottom lips swollen and red after having been chewed on it with worry. Loki ran a hand up Thor's thigh and the King growled again.
"Yes my King. Mount me. Fill me with your knot. I need it. I need to be touched. I need my alpha biting me, mating me. Please…"
"No. Leave me."
"But Thor..."
"Go." Thor said, looking pained. Loki had to do as he was commanded. It did not "do" to disobey the King so openly. Loki went back to his room and stroked away his troubles.
XxXxXxXx
"You didn't warn me. You knew what the ceremony would entail but you didn't utter a word."
"I'm surprised you didn't learn of it from all the chatter around the palace, or from your reading." Frigga said in a tone that Loki knew to be lying.
"I heard hushed whispers, and that was all. Everyone clamed up whenever I approached. Why did you not have me follow you out of the hall?"
"Because I wanted you to see the ceremony." Frigga said.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to see how high the cost of magic can be. The magic the healers use is benign. The magic I use to cast illusions and spy on people is simple. Big magic, like fertility and vision quests require that a price be paid. Anytime destiny or life hangs in the balance a price must always be paid. Young Sigyn is extremely lucky you intervened on her behalf. The reason none of the nobles wanted to marry her was because they wanted to sacrifice her virtue to the Norns, to curry favor and gain knowledge. She was to be kept untouched. Until last night many had speculated that you were being kept for that very purpose. No one talks about it and you won't find anything about it in any of the books in the library."
"Why her?"
"Politics and jealousy. The other omegas found out about the sacred rituals that are common during this celebration and used the information at court to single her out. Because she is young like you her knowledge of such ceremonies was limited. She is at the perfect age, as are you for a right that would have given over visions of the outcomes of great battles, plagues, droughts…Young Sigyn has displayed a talent for wielding magic, and they would have used her body for a public orgy like you saw last night."
"But that still does not answer my question. Why did you want me to see it?"
"Because you possess the gift as well. You have raw untapped talent Loki and the time has come for me to begin your training."
"Did they find another omega to take her place?"
"No, nor could they locate Sigyn last night to use her for such activity. I made sure of it. They missed their window of opportunity, and it is you that they blame."
"So they didn't get the visions they wanted. So what."
"Loki, these people waited a thousand years for this ceremony. Some of these nobles survive solely on the knowledge they gain from that one night. You denied it to them."
"How? Could they not use one of the other omegas?"
"No. The omega must be pure and these last three years since Thor bought you, have been sparse. I've done some checking. You are the youngest omega in the kingdom. Sigyn is only a few years older than you."
"I know omegas are rare, but it can't be that I am the last one."
"Loki, one of my gifts as the Allmother is the gift of having visions. I see things sometimes that I am not allowed to share until after the event has passed. I never saw you coming. You, Loki, are a child of the Norns. Fate has dropped you here, for a purpose, I do not know."