CHAPTER 10

Thor led Jane from the Bifrost back to the Palace. "Thor, why in the world did Loki look like he wanted to eat Darcy alive?" she asked as they walked along the bridge back to the Palace.

He glanced down at her briefly before answering her inquiry, "You have to understand dear heart, Loki would tear the world apart if he ever lost your sister." She noticed that he had used his pet name for her from before their memories were erased and she found she liked hearing it on his lips again.

It was true and nearly everyone knew it. Loki was volatile and losing his soon to be wife would send him over the edge. Thor knew that it was partly why he had acted the way he had before and he didn't want to see his brother lose it a second time.

"But he was BLUE!" she stated, "I mean I know Loki is part Frost Giant so it was to be expected, but I have never seen him in his Jotun form before. Darcy's right it's a good look on him, just saying."

"What do you mean by part Frost Giant? Father and I assumed he was just small for his species?" he asked her.

"His father was the King of the Frost Giants, but his mother was of the Vanir. A Royal Vanir at that," she answered just as they entered the palace.

"Well, that explains why he is so very powerful. He has the blood of two very powerful races running through his veins."

"But, Thor, what is he going to do with her?"

"Jane, there is only so much my brother can take before he breaks and Father sending the two of you to Jotunheim unprotected was Loki's breaking point. I am sure he is making it so that he can find her no matter where she goes," he explained to his lover.

"How is he going to do that? Is he going to cast a spell on her so he can find her?"

"No, Jane, he is going to claim her in every way possible," he said, his meaning as clear as he could make it, even if it was a tad bit award to be discussing his brothers love life. Her reaction was not what he had expected though and he asked her about it.

"Thor, I think it best to answer you when I can talk with your father as well. There were things we learned that well have changed the way Darcy and I feel towards the Jotun's and I am sure so will you once you hear what happened. Plus you will see your brother in a whole new light and possibly understand just why he acted the way he did in the past," she answered.

They made their way quickly to the Great Hall to seek out the Asgardian King.

Odin saw Jane's face and knew something was not right. Had the Jotun's refused the treaty? Were they going to have to face war now? These thought and many others were running through his mind as his son and soon to be daughter in law made their way towards him.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid I do not bring back good news but nor do I bring bad news either. Let's just say that my sister's and my trip to Jotunheim was very enlightening," Jane said as she bowed to the king.

"So what news do you bring then?"

"Your Majesty, when my sister and I reached Jotunheim we saw but a barren wasteland seemingly devoid of any life but once we came upon the palace we were shocked by the loyalty the Giants were displaying. If Darcy was here she would be able to tell you this herself, however you are going to have to take me at my word. The Giants will not be able to renew the treaty since only a Jotun of Royal blood can do so and since the only remaining Jotun of royal blood is Loki and he wants nothing to do with the Giants, the Jotun's have said that the treaty will remain as it is until the heir is either returned or one of his descendants claims the throne."

"They also told us the story of the heir. That the child that was in the temple was their king's only son and heir and that he had been placed there to protect him during the war with Asgard. They know not who stole the child but they have faith that he still lives."

"Darcy kept making a point to ask about the procreation of the Giants and even I was surprised by their willingness to tell her. But it stands to reason that she will be the mother of their new heir when the time comes and I believe she wants that. There was a certain glint in her eyes before she asked several leading questions about the procreation."

"It seems that only those of Elven decent can successfully mate and bear a child with a Jotun, that is, not including the Frost Giants themselves. Loki's mother was not of Elven decent and died giving birth to him, as she was unable to regulate her body temperature to that of the child growing within her. She was the daughter of the queen of Vanaheim and from what Darcy and I could gather was also of the Vanir. From what the giants told us she and Laufey had fallen in love then he claimed her as his mate and that when she died he never got over it."

"It was the question they asked before we left that really got my attention and Darcy's answer was also surprising. She truly doesn't see the giants as the monsters everyone has labeled them to be. She sees them as a people that are loyal and put family above all else. She went as far as to tell them that it didn't matter where they were from or what color their skin was they were people like the rest of the nine realms and that they deserved a ruler that would put their interests above his or her own. It's probably why she doesn't see Loki as a monster either and I am very inclined to believe she was right."

"The giants will not choose another leader, even though she was the one to suggest it. They would rather go leaderless than choose someone other than the true heir to lead them. They stand vigil in the throne room of the palace awaiting the heirs return. Such loyalty, I have never seen, not even on Midgard."

"Darcy and I have concluded that the reason Loki has acted the way he has is because he is rebelling. A fairly common mortal thing to do, which we both found rather funny considering he is probably the most powerful being in the universe and he was acting like a spoiled child. But when we thought about everything the Jotun's told us and then compared it to everything Loki has told Darcy, I can see why he feels the way he does."

She paused for a moment and then continued on, "Your Majesty, I mean no disrespect, for you are a mighty king, but I want you to think about this from Loki's point of view and tell me honestly what you would have done if you were in his position."

"So let's say you were Laufey and Thor was Loki, hypothetically speaking of course. War was coming to your shore and your new born son and heir had to be kept safe at all costs. What would you have done? Then you find yourself defeated and when you go to retrieve your only son and heir, only to find him gone, what would you feel?"

"Now let's say you are Loki, and you have been told all your life that the people you had been stolen from, though unknowingly at the time, were the worst kind of monsters. Then as time went on you find out that you are the very creature you loathe with every fiber of your being. How would you feel to find out your life had been one big lie? How would you react? How would you trust the family that raised you, knowing that they only ever saw the monster that was concealed within?"

"How would you react knowing that once you thought you actually had a chance at your father's throne, equally with that of your supposed brother, only to find out that it was never the father's intention for you to have it in the first place? And lastly how would you feel knowing that you were the cause of both of your biological parent's deaths?"

"Once you see things from his side, I think it clear that what he has done is only a small way of trying to get you to see that he only ever wanted to belong and he feels like an outcast," Jane finished, she, herself, truly understanding why Loki did what he thought he had to do.

Odin and Thor were dumbfounded. They had never heard Jane speak so much at one time and in the defense of her soon to be brother in law at that.

Odin then realized his mistake. Thinking about what Jane had said, he now understood Loki in a way he had not before. Having placed himself in their shoes, so to speak, he could understand that he was to blame for everything Loki had done, the blame could not be placed solely on his son's shoulders. It was Odin's own fault for not telling Loki of his heritage at a young age.

He was a father too and could understand what Laufey had gone through with the loss of his only child. For Odin knew that he would have been totally broken had something similar happened to Thor. He finally understood that everything he thought he had done right was in fact, wrong. He had wronged Loki, in thinking that he had a fair chance at Asgard's throne, the same chance his own son had. He realized belatedly that Loki would make a good king, probably a better king than Thor.

Shock was reverberating through him. He had to find a way to make it up to Loki. He had wronged the son he had stolen but had come to love him as his own. Yet he had clearly never shown that he loved him. It was no wonder Loki had become so angry and petty. No wonder he had tried to destroy his own race. All because of the hatred that he, Odin, had instilled in both of his son's for the Frost Giants of Jotunheim.

"What have I done?" he asked to no one in particular.

Several hours later, Darcy awoke in Loki's arms. She had expected to feel sore but she wasn't and wondered why only briefly, before recalling what the giants had said about the Light Elves being about to heal themselves. Lifting her head from his now smooth chest, she saw that he, too, was awake and watching her with curiosity in his eyes but not a hint of shame. She had expected him to be mad at her for making him do exactly what he had promised her he would never do but he seemed at peace with himself and that was startling in and of itself.

"Loki?" she ventured to asked but was stopped when he placed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"Darcy, I am not going to apologize for the events that happened earlier, you are mine now in every way. There is no way in the nine realms I am going to let you go again." His voice was soft with only a small hint of possessiveness lingering in his tone.

She knew what he meant and a thrill shot through her. Though they were still only betrothed in the Asgardian and Elven way, they were now married in the Jotun. She liked that she could, if only secretly, call Loki her husband. They had not planned on renewing the relationship so soon nor had she thought they she would be lying beside him fully sated and completely at peace with herself. There would be no traveling for her until she was sure that she was not with child again for she refused to go through that again.