Nothing Cursed Can Stay

Word of Loki's return had spread throughout Asgard like wildfire. Curious crowds that gathered outside of the palace walls turned into angry mobs demanding the traitor be expelled from Asgard forever. They didn't seem to care or believe that Loki was a child without memory of his previous transgressions. They only wanted him gone lest he succeed in destroying Asgard for good this time.

Thor had been able to shelter Loki from the turmoil that plagued the city since word of his return became public knowledge, but he could not protect him from the condemning looks and bitter resentment that radiated from the gods who resided in the palace.

Loki had learned to stop asking questions because he could see how much they distressed his brother. Instead, he suffered their cold looks without explanation.

Thor spent as much time with Loki as possible. He didn't trust anyone else to protect him. He also feared that someone would say something to him. Thor did everything he could to keep Loki occupied. And everything was going well until Balder returned to Asgard…

"I thought they were rumors," he scoffed at Thor. "I had no clue they were actually true."

"Is that why you are here?" Thor growled at his cousin. "To see what all the talk was about?" Balder walked in front of Thor who stood in the center of his rooms. His arms were crossed and his expression darker than a storm cloud.

"Not only," Balder confessed as he stood peering out over Asgard from Thor's window. "I come because they chose me to summon you to a council of the gods."

Thor's face turned even darker. "Are none of them brave enough to summon their king themselves."

"None but I it seems," Balder grinned over his shoulder, a flash of white teeth through his finely trimmed black beard, his blue eyes bright with amusement. "They wish to speak with you about the Sly One."

"Don't call him that," Thor warned. Balder turned from the view and faced his cousin.

"I'll call him what I like," Balder sighed, exasperated as he brushed past Thor. Before Thor could say or do anything, Balder was at his door saying, "Come to the Hall…if it pleases you, My Lord." Amusement flashed across his expression before he closed the door behind him.

Loki played by himself in the garden while Thor spoke to the big man with the black hair. He had not caught his name, but Loki already didn't like him. Loki didn't really like anyone except Thor. It wasn't that he didn't try, but it was hard to like someone who looked at you as if you did something wrong. And everyone looked at him like that.

Sometimes Loki wondered if that's why he had run away and gotten lost. Because no one liked him here.

He fiddled with the small wooden eight legged horse and the wooden Valkyrie warrior in his hands while he stood in the middle of the grass surrounded by flowers growing in the shrubbery. Loki didn't feel like playing anymore, but he didn't know where else he could go. Thor had told him to wait here, that he'd be back to play with him in a little while.

There was a rustling sound in the bushes that startled Loki. He whipped around in time to see a young girl, no older than he was emerging from under the shrubs. She looked at the wooden horse that Loki had dropped at his feet and then up at him, her dark eyes squinting against the bright sun. She had all manner of twigs, leaves, and flowers tangled in her brown hair.

Loki stepped back to allow her room to stand as he clutched his remaining toy in his grasp. The girl brushed the dirt off her white dress uselessly before bending over to retrieve Loki's horse.

"You dropped this?" she said offering it to him with a smile. She was missing some of her baby teeth in her smile.

Loki made no move to take back the toy. Instead he started at her with wide green eyes and a startled expression. He'd never seen another child his age before. Much less a girl. And there she was, smiling her toothy smile looking as if she'd spent the day rolling in the dirt.

"Here, take it!" she giggled easily, shoving it into his arms. Loki flinched, but caught the horse before it fell again. "Who are you?" the girl wanted to know.

"I'm Loki," he mumbled, not quite making eye contact as he banged his wooden toys together. "What are you doing here?" he asked in return, finding that his curiosity outweighed his fear.

"I'm looking for flowers for the Lady Frigga!" the girl announced importantly. "My mama is one of the Lady Frigga's attendants and mama says the Lady Frigga has been feeling badly so I thought I'd pick her some flowers to cheer her up!" she explained between long winded breaths because she was nearly shouting. The girl's mother was the Goddess Servant of Frigga named Fulla.

Loki's mood soured further at the mention of Frigga.

"Oh," he said quietly. "She doesn't like me very much."

"The Lady Frigga?" the girl asked, her brow furrowing. "I'm sure that's not true. The Lady Frigga is really nice to me."

Loki shrugged unhappily and explained, "My brother Thor says that I remind her of someone she lost. I don't think she liked that person very much though…"

"I know Thor lost his daddy and his brother…" the girl said after thinking a moment.

"I'm Thor's brother and he found me," Loki told her twisting his lips and squinting at her.

"Well then maybe you remind the Lady Frigga of your daddy! Maybe you look like him! I look like my mommy!" the girl exclaimed excitedly.

Loki thought about it and decided that that might be the case. Maybe he made her sad because he looked like his father who was dead… He hadn't really thought about the man who was his father before. He didn't really feel sad that he was dead, because he simply didn't remember him. Loki had Thor and it was enough for him…

Loki glanced up at the girl and offered her the horse. "Do you want to play with me?" he asked shyly. The girl grinned again, glad to have made Loki feel better.

"Sure!" she took the horse and made a neighing sound. Loki giggled and imitated her which made her laugh. She lifted the horse above her head and started to run around. Loki followed her, laughing as he did the same with his toy.

"What's your name?" Loki asked loudly over her laughter.

"I'm Sigyn!"

Thor arrived in the Hall of Valhalla, the doors swinging open and cracking against the walls like thunder. The gods waiting in their seats winged out on either side of the All Father's throne jumped. Balder watched him approach without even bothering to mask his amusement. Tyr clenched his fist on the arm of his chair, still angry for having to wait for so long.

Thor brushed his hardened gaze over each of them as he stomped his way up the steps to this throne. His red cape flaring up behind him, he turned and plopped himself down.

No one said a thing.

Thor waved his hand in the air. "Well?" he demanded testily.

Sif bravely spoke first.

"We've gathered here to talk to you about Loki."

Thor resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he stared ahead, not bothering to look at any of them. Of course this was about Loki. Thor would have been surprised if they called this meeting to talk about anything else.

"He cannot be allowed to stay here," Freyja said after Sif.

"He should be executed," Tyr grumbled stroking his fiery red beard, glaring at Thor with eyes as grey as steel. Thor refused to give him the satisfaction of reacting lest he break Tyr's nose to add to the ugliness that was his face.

"Loki is too dangerous to be left alive. You must keep in mind that it is his nature to deceive." Syn said diplomatically. Sjofn would have reached out and touched Thor's hand had she been seated next to him. But that honor had been left to Thor's uncles Vili and Ve and neither of them were kind enough to comfort him.

"This has to be some sort of scheme. Don't let your feeling for the bastard get in the way of your judgment," Freyr, Freyja's twin brother who was as handsome as she was beautiful commented idly.

Thor slammed his fist down on the arm of his gilded throne, silencing the next god who dared to open their mouth.

"He. Stays." Thor declared with a quiet calm that seemed to have more of an effect on them than it would have of he had yelled. He rose out of his place at the throne and descended a few steps before turning on them. "You wish me to execute a child? A child that has no memory of the wrong he had done? I will not." Thor shook his head, "I know Loki isn't lying. You did not watch him die. You did not bury him. You did not look into that child's eyes and see the truth that I saw there. He's terrified." Thor lifted a threatening finger at each of them. "You say anything to that boy, you try to harm one hair on his head, and you will have to answer to me. I failed him once and he turned into the monster that nearly destroyed us all. You are all fools if you think I had forgotten. I will not fail him this time, he will not go down that path again. You get in my way and I will kill you. I don't care if you are my kin," Thor said under his breath, though they all heard him clearly enough as he turned and walked away.

None of them moved until the doors closed behind the God of Thunder.