"Open it," Queen Frigga said, sitting with her son on the balcony of the royal suite and gently poking him with the rather large present she had had made for him.
"Later, maybe," Loki said, not even looking at her. He was uniquely uninterested in, well, anything, since he had returned. He spent most of his time lounging in his room, at least, if the healers and Thor left him alone.
"Now, Loki."
He turned around, one eyebrow raised. He took the package and slowly opened it. He looked up at her, expression guarded. "Alright, what is it?"
Nonplussed, the queen lifted up the false leg. "I commissioned it from the dwarves of Nidavellir. It will integrate seamlessly with your magic. You'll have full mobility. It's light but incredibly durable." She looked pointedly at the empty boot crumpled beneath his severed leg. "You won't have to maintain it and drain yourself."
Loki sighed, but Frigga chose to take that as an acceptance of the gift. "And the other?"
She smiled. "Now that is a work of art. Revolutionary. The artisan was very excited to work on the challenge." She laid a hand on his back, causing him to jump. "I know you still struggle from this injury, my darling. I see you gasping and clutching your chest every time you exert yourself. This will help. It's an artificial lung. It will take a little time and magic to implant properly, but eventually..."
"I'll breathe freely again." Frigga smiled. Loki had picked up the delicate device and was studying it in some amazement. It was currently completely collapsed, so it was quite small, but it was easy to see how blood vessels could grow into the netlike architecture and how the whole thing could function just like the original organ. "This is wondrous," he murmured, running long fingers over the silver metal.
"I'm glad you like it," Frigga said.
A bark of laughter. "How could I not like it? Who would reject even a partial cure?" His gaze flickered briefly to her. "Thank you."
"You are very welcome, darling." Loki didn't answer, but he took the prosthetic leg from her and affixed it to his stump. He smiled slightly as the false ankle flexed a moment later. Frigga was content. It was a start.
Author's Note: not much to say. You are welcome to leave reviews, and of course, check out my other fics. There are two more about Loki...
