.-.

Beneath

Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two – Delegation

Thor apologized for cutting their outing short, Jane assured him it was fine, and the Einherjar messenger and his horse – which Jane could swear had wings draped down its sides – quickly faded into the distance.

They were going fast, a lot faster than Thor had ever flown with her before, and Jane gave up on trying to keep her eyes open against the sting of the roaring wind, tucking her head in against Thor's chest and squeezing them tightly shut. Thor's focus was single-minded, so Jane didn't try to ask questions.

"We already have their signature and seal. They won't be there," Loki had told her with complete confidence.

The Frost Giants – Jotuns, Jane reminded herself – apparently had other ideas about that.

/


/

"This is preposterous," Loki finally said, unable to stand there still and silent any longer. "There's no need to wait for him to get back. Gungnir is in your hand. Make the decision yourself."

Odin rested a measured gaze on Loki, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke, a habit which Loki had apparently still not reacquired. "Are you certain you would prefer my answer to his?"

Loki considered it for a moment, then grit his teeth and went back to leaning against the column he'd planted himself at soon after arriving in the throne room.

"Let's go into my office," Odin said after a moment. "This needs to be discussed privately." Bragi had already been dismissed before Loki's arrival and no one else but a handful of Einherjar at their stations by the doors was around, but they would need to be able to speak frankly, without concern for who might overhear.

Frigga tried to embrace Loki, who made no move to follow Odin, but he also made no move to return the gesture. "Loki," she said with a grim smile, "come with me. We'll all talk it over as soon as Thor returns, all right?"

"Will we? All of us? And how much weight do you think my thoughts will actually hold, Mother?"

"Your thoughts will hold weight. How much relative to others', I don't know. We must consider many factors."

"You mean Thor must consider many factors. Chief among them, Odin's opinion."

"Then why did you first think you'd rather Odin decide, if you worry about his influence over Thor?"

Loki looked away for a moment, remembering how he'd listened in disbelief as Thor spoke of wanting to meet with Helblindi, even with Farbauti. "Did you know that Thor has become irrationally enamored with them? With ideas of ushering in a new era of friendship and harmony with Jotunheim?"

"I have spoken with Thor about Jotunheim, briefly, and I suspect you may be somewhat overstating things."

"My choice of words may reflect overstatement. That doesn't change the truth within them, and I suspect that you may be somewhat attempting to sidestep that," Loki said, attention shifting at the end to the heavy doors at the far end of the throne room that had just been opened. His anger grew back to a boil as Thor came into view, still flying, holding onto Jane, and coming to light just a few feet away from them. Jane's footsteps, he noticed, those first steps that marked the transition from flying to walking, were relatively smooth, not the stumbling feet of one who was new to it.

"Greetings, Jane," Frigga said before turning immediately to Thor. "Your father is waiting for us in his office."

Jane's arm dropped from behind Thor's back, where she'd held onto him on the way here, and she took a step away. "I'll just go back to my room. I know how to get there fr-."

"There's no need," Loki cut in, halting the further steps Jane had already started to take. "Jane knows the truth of the matter. She may as well stay."

Thor regarded Loki with surprise. It would be strange to include Jane in this discussion. Not because any of it needed to be kept from her – he saw no reason for it to be – but because her familiarity with Jotunheim, the history of the two realms, protocol, and the treaty itself was minimal. Loki, he thought, wanted Jane there. The support of a friend with whom his relationship was less troubled. "Jane?"

"Okay," Jane said, when neither Thor nor Frigga gave her any signal that she shouldn't be there. Odin, she thought, might be another story. But if Loki wanted her there, she wasn't going to let that stop her.

They made their way between the pillars, toward the office. Loki, in the lead, hoped he hadn't made a mistake. Jane, he knew, harbored her own unrealistic ideas about the Frost Giants, born of simple ignorance of who and what they truly were. Her heart was kind, but kind hearts toward Jotunheim would invite Asgard's destruction. So if she disapproved of his own attitude toward them, that was fine; this was not about that. This was about proper diplomacy and other practicalities. And Jane's presence, he hoped, would help him remain calm and keep his anger, already so close to the surface now, from boiling over. Thor never should have even been called back for this. Odin should have simply said no, without a second's thought.

"I was beginning to wonder…what happened to you," Odin said, the hitch in words coming with the surprise of seeing Thor's Midgardian guest filing in between Frigga and Thor. "Jane feels like family," Frigga had said, but this was presumptuous. Jane Foster was not family, and stood glaringly out of place here, both in this chamber, and in this discussion. But he did not forget his debts, and no one else had objected, not even Loki. He would not object either, on one condition. "Jane Foster. Welcome to Asgard. I trust you have enjoyed your visit thus far."

"I have. I've had great hosts. Your Majesty," she said, trying not to betray her awkwardness. The king's expression wasn't exactly unwelcoming, but she felt like she was being greeted as a visiting dignitary instead of a friend of his sons.

"Good. Now to the matter that brings us here. Loki, you do not object to her joining us?"

"I do not," he answered icily.

Odin nodded. "Dr. Foster, the greatest secret at play in this meeting is the one concerning Loki, one that is already known to you. Still, we do not conduct discussions about our relations with other realms in the open. If you are to remain, you must provide your freely given oath that what is said behind that closed door goes no further. Know also that on Asgard, a sworn oath holds great weight and is thus not to be taken lightly. Do you so swear?"

"I swear," Jane answered, without hesitation.

Odin nodded his acknowledgement, then turned to Thor. "Heimdall has reported a message from Farbauti, who is now recognized on at least most of Jotunheim as that realm's ruling queen. She requested that Asgard transport a delegation of Jotuns to observe the signing of the treaty. She said that since Jotunheim played a key role in putting an end to that unfortunate war – her words – then Jotunheim should be able to bear witness to the signing of the treaty that makes its end official."

Loki remained silent, waiting to hear Thor's reaction before getting involved.

"She has a point," Thor said, tentatively. "We would not be gathering here today, signing a treaty, were it not for her decision to exit the war."

It was harder now, but still Loki held his tongue. He would never get used to this. A couple of years ago, and for the more than a millennium prior, Thor would have greeted that idea with an indignant rage and a vow to strike down any Frost Giant who dared step one toe on Asgard or even contemplate doing so.

"And I do want to reestablish diplomatic relations with Jotunheim, somehow, eventually. But this is…sudden."

I suppose that's one word for it, Loki thought.

"How do they even know the treaty's being signed today?" Frigga asked.

"The Dark Elves must have told them when they made their official visit last night," Odin answered.

"I welcome your counsel, Father," Thor said.

Odin inclined his head. "Every potential course of action is marked by benefit and risk. A wise king must consider them both…and unfortunately, in this case he must do it quickly. If we permit a delegation from Jotunheim to witness the signing, it may be seen as an act of good will on our part, perhaps the first step on a path to improved relations. You disagree, Loki?" Odin asked when he saw the reaction Loki was trying to suppress.

Loki looked up, startled to be called on, by Odin no less. "I find the premise too unrealistic to form an opinion. And frankly, too irrelevant."

"How so?" Odin asked.

"Improved relations with Jotunheim? To what end? What difference does it make?"

"That's what I had begun to think, back when we stopped holding regular meetings with them, when you and Thor were not yet grown. In those days of course, I was insisting on yearly contact which Laufey did not want. I thought that it made no difference, and that in fact the heated blood of our peoples may cool over time, if they were left to themselves. Centuries later, Jotunheim has provided the excuse six other realms required to declare war on us, and Jotuns came to Asgard freezing the source of three of our most important rivers. Yes, improved relations can make a difference. Other benefits?"

"They could see it as a sign of respect," Thor said. "To join the representatives of the other realms. Equal standing, in a sense?"

"Equal standing in what? They aren't a party to the treaty," Loki pointed out.

"Equal standing among the realms."

"This isn't about the realms. It's a treaty-signing. It's about the treaty."

"And Jotunheim was instrumental in us having a treaty."

"In that case, Midgard's food deliveries kept your warriors strong, enabling you to endure long enough to have a treaty. Where is their delegation?"

All eyes fell on Jane, including, last of all, Loki's. "I'm just here as a guest," she said, not wanting to stumble – or be dragged – into the middle of something she knew so little about. If she had something to say, she would say it without hesitation. Thor and Loki at least, and by now probably Odin and Frigga, too, knew that she wasn't the type to just stand there hanging off a man's arm and smiling, and they'd brought her with them into this meeting.

"I honestly don't understand the need for discussion here. It's a treaty-signing. At which a treaty will be signed. At which those attending will sign a treaty. Jotunheim isn't a party to the treaty, and therefore will not be signing the treaty, and therefore there is no reason for Jotunheim to attend."

"Except that they asked to," Odin noted, ignoring Loki's pedantic speech.

"Oh, well, if that's a valid reason, then when Farbauti's sons and later Farbauti herself asked that I remove the restriction from the Ice Casket, why didn't I simply do so? When she decided she wanted to negotiate over how long the restriction would remain in place before review, then I suppose I should have simply agreed at once when she asked for no more than one hundred years instead of a thousand. But I'm quibbling. Even before the war, when Jotunheim asked for the Ice Casket and for me, Asgard should have just bundled us up and said 'here you go, enjoy.'"

"Loki, there's no need to be facetious," Frigga chided. "But your point is taken, I believe. We aren't obligated to agree to their request, simply because they requested it, even if we wish to improve relations. We could, for example, deny the request, but offer to meet at a later time. Such a scenario would allow us to focus our attention on them alone, instead of them being merely one of a number of delegations."

Loki nodded in the beginning, pleased that his mother was seeing reason, but by the end he was gritting his teeth again. He didn't want Frost Giants back on Asgard period, not just during today's treaty-signing. But that would be another battle, perhaps, for another day, one he probably wouldn't even be here to fight. The most critical battle was today's.

"What about the risks, then? Do we risk anything by saying no?" Thor said with a look to his father. "I see no offense in it if we tell them…we can't accommodate any further visitors at this time, but we would like to invite them for an official visit later, perhaps in a month or two?"

"You see no offense in it," Odin said. "They may. Farbauti didn't ask for official meetings. She specifically asked to send a delegation to witness the treaty-signing, because of Jotunheim's direct role in it. Remember their pride. This is the people who have let their main city and their palace with it lie in ruins for over a thousand years because they refused to repair it by any means other than the Ice Casket. They may well put pride ahead of what is in our eyes objectively best for their people. The damage to their realm from the bifrost," Odin said, gaze only briefly falling on Loki, who he noticed didn't flinch from it, "is severe, extending deep beneath the ground. And while the Ice Casket should help them make repairs, recovery will take decades, if not centuries. Re-engaging with Asgard, and through Asgard the other realms, could bring more immediate benefit. This may be an opening, and it may be the only one you get."

Thor hoisted himself onto the desk. Everyone's points made sense, even Loki's barbed ones. How was he to decide? His experience dealing with the Frost Giants was limited to barging into those ruins like a petulant child and rekindling a war, and several tense hours in the company of the Jotun princes and their allies doing little more than trying to avoid another fight, and perhaps getting a signal from Helblindi that the eldest Laufeyson also desired peace, if he wasn't reading more into it than Helblindi actually intended. And as a peacetime king, he had no experience.

"If you're done weighing the impact of hurting their feelings," Loki said, "I suggest we turn to the risk of saying yes. This is not a treaty on recognition of artists' guilds. It is of monumental importance to Asgard, and if Asgard considers a treaty that turns inevitable loss into victory a trifle, then I remind you it is of monumental importance to me. And after all this time, after a brutal war across two realms and a millennium spent as enemies, you'll simply take their word for it? Take Farbauti's word for it? The woman who spied on her own warring sons? Who secretly paid the former head of the army to attack both sons? She is not trustworthy. She would not seek this without ulterior motives. The Frost Giants can do nothing of benefit to the treaty; they can only do it harm. Are you ready to risk the ceremony being disrupted? The treaty not being signed?"

"Does she have any reason to not want it to be signed?" Odin asked.

"I don't know. I'm merely pointing out that she can't be trusted."

"Does she want peace between Asgard and Jotunheim?"

Loki drew back, turning a more probing eye on Odin. "What makes you think I know what she wants?" he asked, his calm, quiet voice belying the turbulence rising inside him, constricting his chest and turning his breaths shallow.

"You were just speaking about her with great confidence. Let us be direct. If anyone is in a position to have insight into Farbauti's intentions, it is you."

He did not, Loki thought. He could not have. He did not. The trembling was terrible on the inside, terrible enough that it might have reached the outside, and Loki was almost surprised that none of the things that were clawing their way through him managed to shred his flesh and burst forth to destroy this chamber. Somehow – and not particularly by conscious choice – he simply stood rooted to the spot, staring at Odin, only words making it out of him. "I have no insight into that creature," Loki he said, voice dropping in pitch.

"Are you certain? It's clear that more was said between you-"

Jane had followed the rising tension with growing fear and dread for what seemed Loki's inevitable explosion – she recognized that sudden stillness after a period of restless anxiety, and had been able to head off the blast once or twice before. She scrambled for a way to intervene, but it was Frigga who cut Odin off with a palm held out toward him, low by her side.

"Loki," Frigga said, then repeated his name again. When he finally looked her way, she saw in his strained expression not quite the same man who'd so alarmed her upon his return from Jotunheim, nearly jumping out of his skin, on the brink of madness. But she did see her son who prided himself on his control and was about to lose it. "Please listen to me. No one is suggesting that you have any special insight into her. We're simply trying to do as you suggested: consider her motivations. And none of us has even seen her since you and Thor were ten years old. You spoke with her privately, just days ago."

"I convinced her to accept the Casket and withdraw from the alliance," Loki said, chest still tight but not as painfully so. "And then I left. We didn't discuss her future plans, or her intentions toward Asgard."

"All right. But it's not just your tongue that is sharp, my dear. You have sharp eyes, and sharp ears. You have long been observant. Perceptive of others. I know it isn't easy, but think back. I remember you telling me that Farbauti told you she thought Laufey had done Jotunheim no favors. In what context did she say that?"

Loki tried to remember it, but swiftly decided he couldn't. He barely remembered saying it himself, to his mother. "I don't know. I was focused, and not on her ramblings."

Frigga took a moment to glance about the room. She considered asking everyone else to step out; it would be better if she could be alone with Loki, perhaps. But time was of the essence, and everyone inside this office cared about him and was watching him with concern, even if Loki didn't believe it and couldn't see it. "You never should have had to face what you did there. Especially not so unexpectedly. It was too much to ask of you. And yet you did it. You did it marvelously. I'm sorry to ask so much of you again; I know you'd rather forget. But please try."

"This isn't-"

"Please, Loki. Close your eyes if it helps. Think back on what she said about Laufey doing no favors. What was she talking about? What did she think of his rule?"

Loki looked back at her, uncomprehending. Why did it matter what Farbauti had said about Laufey? He knew it wasn't "Laufey should have destroyed Asgard" or "Laufey should have licked Asgard's boots," he would have remembered either of those. He couldn't see into that witch's mind and he had no desire to. And he felt the stares boring from both sides and behind, including Jane's, and this wasn't why he'd asked her to stay, wasn't what he'd imagined happening at all. He had no idea how they'd gone from the logical fact that the Frost Giants didn't need to attend the signing of a treaty they weren't a party to, to the ravings that had come out of that-

"Loki. Just give it a try. You were focused then. Focus now."

"Fine," he bit out, already closing his eyes. "Laufey's rule…I don't know. She cut her hair off when he died. All of it, to the scalp. Some tradition they follow. She said he…" He remembered it then. Quite clearly. Her tone of voice had changed. She had become more purposeful, more direct, finally ready to deal with the matter at hand. "I loved my husband," she'd said. He wouldn't repeat that part. He would not speak of anything she called "love." "She said, 'As he grew older, he did us few favors. What good is pride when your world crumbles beneath your feet?' She said" – he opened his eyes and they flickered toward Jane – "Jotunheim's pride was once a strength, but had become a weakness."

Frigga gave Loki's arm a quick squeeze. "It sounds like she wants to lead Jotunheim in a different direction than Laufey did."

Loki squared his jaw, then turned, crossing the room to distance himself from Frigga and draw closer to Thor, angling his body so that Odin remained outside his field of view. "That is a reasonable interpretation, yes. But if you think that direction is one of friendship, if you think she has suddenly changed her view of the Aesir or actually cares about peace for peace's sake, you're a fool. She is a Frost Giant. She does not value peace. She was perfectly content to continue in Laufey's path and Nal's before him until the Ice Casket was dropped in her frozen lap. She's quick to pursue peace now only because she knows Jotunheim cannot survive more war. It's why they didn't actually participate in the alliance in the first place."

"If she wants peace now, it's enough for me, regardless of the reason," Thor said, relieved that whatever had been going on with Loki a moment before seemed to have passed. "And the context…it's fitting, isn't it? We're gathering for the express purpose of peace. Perhaps once she's had it for a while, once her people have had it for a while, they won't want to give it up. I'm sorry, Loki, the more I think about it, the more I see no reason to reject the request. Your own report suggests the Jotuns are unlikely to disrupt the proceedings. I think it's a rare opportunity. I do want the chance to speak with Helblindi alone, even if only for a minute or two. Perhaps he would be included in the delegation." Thor directed his attention to his parents. "He's the one I told you about, the one who gave me the sense he might be interested in improving relations."

"I remember him well, too," Loki said. "Such fond memories they are. And I, too, had the sense that he is, underneath that gruff, brutish exterior, a great proponent of peace. You should invite him specifically to come here. We can all sit down over a tankard of mead and just laugh as we reminisce. Remember when he said they'd cut us both in half and split us between them so they didn't have to fight over who got whom? Then it was Byleister as I recall who added more fun to the idea, something about later stitching us back up so they could torture us some more? Oh, that Byleister, are you sure you wouldn't like to speak with him, too? I confess I lost track of how many ways he described that he'd like to torture me in particular for the next four thousand years. The amity in that ice cave, it was…" – Loki motioned with his hand as though urging the right word to come forth – "it was tangible, wasn't it?"

Thor caught Jane's look of horror and sent a warning one to Loki. "It was just words, Jane. Nothing happened. The words of an angry warrior can be coarse. And unwise," he added, gaze coming back to rest on Loki.

"I'm sure Jane is familiar with coarse words, and it's clear enough that we both came back with our limbs. But that level of anger is not just words. The only thing that stayed their hand was the possibility of regaining the Ice Casket."

"And the fact that we were in their mother's home."

Loki gave a grudging nod. "It did probably require both for them to maintain any semblance of self-control. Thor, my point is this," Loki immediately continued, reminded that he needed to get a grasp on his own self-control. He was an expert at manipulating Thor, and he was letting his owns emotions stand in his way. "You're a new king, who's just led Asgard in a brutal war. I watched you pulling that Aesir away from the dead Svartalf warrior. I know you've seen and experienced things you never want to again. I know how much you desire peace, and I understand that. But you're letting your own desire color your thoughts, and seeing it reflected in places where in reality it is merely a mirage."

"You may be right," Thor conceded. "But we won't know until we try. I believe the potential benefit outweighs the potential risk."

"There is one risk that has not yet been considered," Odin said. That Loki hadn't thought of it was impossible. That Loki hadn't mentioned it, therefore, was significant, though in what way he wasn't certain.

Loki forced himself to turn and face Odin. "This isn't about me."

"Isn't it?"

"We do have to consider it, Loki," Frigga said. "Ignoring the facts does not change them."

"What?" Thor asked.

"Farbauti knows the truth," Jane filled in. Loki hadn't given away that secret lightly, no longer caring who knew. He'd sacrificed it for his freedom. But he did so thinking he'd trapped it on Jotunheim with a people who couldn't leave their world and come to his. And now, just days later, those people were asking Asgard to supply the transportation to bring them right to Asgard's palace. Jane had no doubt that Loki found the idea of simply bringing a Jotun delegation to Asgard a terrible affront. But bringing them to Asgard to be surrounded by representatives from across the Nine Realms, knowing what they knew? She had suspected from the start that this was the real reason Loki opposed their inclusion.

"I'm sorry, Loki," Thor said. "I hadn't thought about it like that. And it's not just Farbauti. Helblindi and Byleister know. Reihal and Taulist, and the two who were with Byleister, they all know, too. Possibly. Reihal seemed to have understood, at least."

"Telling someone a secret that you still want kept is itself a risk. Those you tell, you grant some portion of power over you," Odin said.

"I have granted them no power," Loki retorted.

"No? And if they come here, and make demands in exchange for remaining silent?"

Blackmail, Lok thought behind the same steely determined gaze. Somehow it hadn't occurred to him. Perhaps he should have given it more thought, instead of trying to forget that whole encounter had ever happened. Behaving like uncivilized savages, spilling out things they had no business spilling, yes, he'd thought that was a risk if they were allowed to attend the signing. Mostly, though, he just hadn't wanted them here, standing on his realm and knowing what they knew: that he was an imposter. That it wasn't really his realm. But blackmail, done right, the kind of blackmail not easily slithered out of, it required a certain amount of sophistication of thought. He hadn't considered the Frost Giants capable of it. Not until he met Farbauti. She had betrayed her own sons in a plot that had surely required a great deal of thought and planning, at least before the general she used in her betrayal betrayed her. She was surely capable of finely crafted blackmail. And so much more than he had initially assumed…

"I don't see how we can avoid that, if that's the direction they choose," Thor said, lost in his own thoughts as he tried to imagine possible scenarios. "Even if we never make contact with them again, to try to avoid giving them an opportunity to make demands, we don't possess the only means of travel in the Nine Realms. The Dark Elves will use their talismans, if they think the need great enough. As they've already done, when they sent an ambassador to make a formal call on Jotunheim. Heimdall would have told us if they discussed Loki…but there's no guarantee they won't in the future. Whether we bring them to Asgard or not. How are we going to protect Loki's secret?"

"The problem is that it isn't fully ours to protect anymore," Frigga said.

"If you met with them privately," Jane said, "instead of having them at the ceremony with everybody else, then they wouldn't have anyone to tell."

"But to ban them from witnessing the signing of a peace treaty, does it not send the wrong message, if we want a true path to peace with them?" Thor asked. "And we can't control all of their dealings with others. Nor can we can keep them isolated forever."

"You could for a while though, couldn't you?" Jane asked. "Maybe at least delaying their ability to tell someone else is worth something. For Loki." All eyes again fell on her, Loki's too even though he seemed distracted; she took a quick breath and continued. "Everyone keeps saying that it's the Jotuns that got you to this point. To the treaty. But it wasn't the Jotuns. It was Loki. Isn't that worth something?"

Run away with me and never look back, Loki thought, staring intently at Jane, every other thought evaporating, every worry fading to nothing in that instant. He couldn't quite swallow, and stretched his neck a little to help it along. Jane, of course, was focused on Thor.

"You're right," Thor said, nodding slowly. "I haven't been thinking about this properly. Loki, you sacrificed greatly to bring us to this day. With that in mind…I think the best course of action is to turn down their request, and-"

"No."

"No?" Thor said when Loki neither continued nor explained himself. He straightened up from the desk he'd perched on the edge of. "Are you disagreeing now only because I just agreed with you?"

"As a narrative, that has merit. But no," Loki said again, then let it hang there, because he knew it aggravated Thor.

"Tell us what you're thinking, Loki," Frigga prodded. "Time is slipping away from us."

"I'm thinking that Thor is determined to bring Frost Giants into Asgard at some point. If not today, then soon. And assuming you're not already back at war with them by the end of that meeting – not at all a safe assumption, of course – then you're going to want to do it again, aren't you?"

"That would be the goal. Yes," Thor agreed, his tone not quite as firm as his words. He was committed to pursuing this path, but what he'd seen and heard from Loki these last few days had his heart wavering. No matter what else had happened, Loki hadn't asked to be what he was beneath the Aesir appearance. Thor remembered his own moment of panic when he'd thought for mere seconds that he was stuck with a Frost Giant's face; he would never want to be the one who instigated the circumstances that led to the public revelation of Loki's secret.

"Then no delays. I don't want this hanging over my head in the future. Bring them here now. Let them do as they will. But." He turned a quick 180 degrees. "I want your word, All-Father. If the Frost Giants do anything to disrupt the signing, anything not intentionally provoked by me of course, I will bear no blame for it, and I will still be released from judgement."

"Are you sure? So much has happened recently. You don't think it's…a little too soon?" Frigga asked, thinking again of that glimpse she'd had into just how precarious Loki's mental state was, right after his return from Jotunheim.

"I don't think Farbauti will want it revealed. When she acts, it's because it benefits her to do so. I don't see the benefit in that to her. And I know a secret of hers as well," he added, coming back to what he'd been thinking about as the debate went on without him. "Dirnolek. The fact that she paid him to attack her sons. I don't think anyone else knows about that."

"Could she have deliberately chosen to reveal that to you? An exchange of secrets…a guarantee, in essence?" Odin asked.

"I don't know," Loki said, though it was exactly what he had just been wondering. Farbauti, in fact, had revealed a number of things which, at least on the surface of it, one would not normally choose to reveal to an enemy. "Do I have your word?"

"Under the conditions you set forth, you do. Bringing the Frost Giants here, or not, is Thor's decision. If they obstruct the signing, the responsibility lies on Thor's head, not yours."

Thor opened his mouth to argue, but realized he couldn't. His father was right. It wouldn't be Loki's fault regardless, but he would not be able to simply point his finger at the Frost Giants, either. If they behaved badly, it would be his fault for permitting them to be present in the first place. He still couldn't help a slight scowl in Loki's direction, and he didn't fail to miss the slight smirk Loki sent in his. And then he thought, perhaps everything would be all right after all. "The decision is made, then," he said, feeling more confident than he had since he was first informed of the message from Jotunheim. "The Jotuns may send a delegation to observe the signing. Who should we send to deliver our response?"

"I suggest Bragi," Odin said. "He's capable of remaining calm even when provoked, he understands the necessary protocol…and he does not know the true facts of Loki's birth. We'll have one indication right away whether they have spread the secret or intend to."

It was a reasonable plan, Loki thought. Still it made him shiver. Now that his concern had shifted toward the protection of his false skin, it unnerved him to think of someone else standing on Jotunheim, alone with its inhabitants, without Loki there keeping a watchful eye over everything said and done.

"You're forgetting something, though," Odin continued once Thor had agreed to send Bragi. "Farbauti's request did not specify the size of the delegation she wished to send. If you don't want her potentially sending us a hundred giants, you'd best specify it for her."

Thor felt his confidence deflating as though a physical thing. It was a crucial detail, and something else that had not occurred to him in all this.

"This is why you have advisors, Thor," Odin said in response to Thor's clear chagrin. "You will always rely on them. Even when you've been king for a few millennia."

Thor nodded, mustered a bracing smile in acknowledgement. "The other realms have been permitted three, yes? A signer and two witnesses?"

"Correct," Odin answered. "I confirmed it with Bragi before coming here."

"We permit them two, then. The same number of witnesses as the other realms, but fewer guests in total, since they aren't party to the treaty. It reflects their lesser role."

Odin was nodding, but Loki was shaking his head. Having walked out on the treaty negotiations early, he hadn't realized the delegations were being kept so small. "If she sends two, she may believe she has to split the slots between a supporter of Helblindi and a supporter of Byleister. She may even send Helblindi and Byleister themselves, and despite your unrealistically high hopes, Thor, that's not likely to go well, especially not immediately after Farbauti put an end to their war. Helblindi was the heir by birth order, but Byleister was favored by Laufey. Each believes the throne is rightfully his, and Byleister in particular detests Asgard and especially me, because he believes that had Laufey lived, the throne would have been formally handed to him." It wasn't precisely what Farbauti had said; she'd said Byleister "adored" his father. But his version was a reasonable interpolation of what she'd said about her warring sons, and the idea of Byleister "adoring" anything was laughable.

"One then," Thor said. "And she sends a neutral ambassador?"

Loki exhaled slowly as everything fell into place. As bad as Thor, he grumbled to himself. A "delegation." She deliberately left it vague. She knew it would send Asgard scrambling. She heard everything said in that cave, she knows Thor's attitude has changed and he drools at the first hint of a possibility of peace. She knew he would want this. She knew I wouldn't. And she knew from the Dark Elves that the delegations were limited to three each. I wonder if she even cares all that much about the outcome, or if she just wanted to imagine the chaos…

"She'll come herself," Odin supplied. "Won't she?"

"Yes. It's probably what she intended all along." It was a strange and deeply uncomfortable feeling, to the point of nausea, but he could almost respect her. If she had no connection to him. If she wasn't a hideous blue giant ruling a broken realm of barbarians. If the thought of her didn't fill him with horror and revulsion and dread.

"The information you've provided may prove useful. Did she reveal anything else?" Odin asked.

"No," Loki answered immediately, then glanced toward his mother and Jane and reconsidered. "Her hair. Don't comment on it unless you want a half-hour lecture on hair."

"Hair?" Odin echoed with a faint smile. "What is this tradition you mentioned?"

"The short version: the females don't cut their hair. She cut hers all off when Laufey died, and has continued to keep it shorn. Now that she's decided she fancies ruling, she's letting it grow again. Take care in everything you say and do around her. Thor…you're probably better off not speaking to her at all. Far too dangerous. Do not underestimate her."

"I'll greet her upon her arrival," Odin said. "Keep her occupied before the ceremony."

"I do still want to speak with her. I haven't even met her yet," Thor said, eyeing Loki.

"I suggest you keep it brief. She will be here only as a witness, and her presence must not overshadow the proceedings."

Thor nodded; his father was of course correct. It might be easier said than done, though. Loki's two secret offers notwithstanding, no Frost Giant had been invited to Asgard in over a thousand years. "I'll send for Bragi," he said, heading for the door. "We have an invitation to extend to Jotunheim."

/


/

"Are you okay?" Jane asked quietly back in the throne room, Frigga lingering not far away.

Loki tossed off a flippant smile. "Of course I am."

"You didn't tell me Farbauti was in charge now, you know."

"I didn't? I didn't intentionally keep it from you."

"I know. And I know you didn't want this. Her coming here. Just last night you said you never wanted to see her again."

"Yes, well…I'm used to not getting what I want. I should have known better," he said with a casual gesture of his hand.

"I guess you don't have any choice but to be there."

"I do, actually. There's a process for designating someone else to sign on your behalf. But she's probing for weakness, and she won't find it in me. Besides, there's no way in the Nine Realms I would miss this. I worked hard for it, Lady Jane. I think I deserve to see it come to fruition."

"Just…try not to let her get to you, then, okay?"

"Jane, please don't worry," he said, taking a step closer and dropping his voice almost to a whisper. "Today will not go entirely as originally planned. I'm also used to that. As long as I'm free at the end of it, everything else is a mere trifle. Inconsequential. You should go now. Mother's waiting for you, and she has duties to attend to before the actual signing."

Jane was soon hurrying over to Frigga's side, his mother sending him a reassuring smile before they headed for the entrance to the private wing. He wasn't quite as indifferent about Farbauti's visit as he'd tried to appear. But he truly wasn't as unhappy, even angry, as he'd been when the possibility had first arisen, even when he'd assumed she wanted to send some anonymous delegation, random pea-brained Frost Giants to lumber through the palace and snarl at the hosts and the civilized guests.

He knew who he was. He knew who his mother was. Farbauti would arrive – unless he was wrong and she sent someone else, but he didn't think he was wrong – and he would gain a sense of her intentions toward the secret of his birth. He would loathe her and her offensive presence on Asgardian soil, and then she would leave, and he would be free.

He stared at the door Jane had disappeared behind. Jane was far more worthy of his attention. She had argued with Thor, right in front of everyone. She was the one person in that office who had without reservation put him before Asgard. Everything else next to that was a trifle. Inconsequential.

/


/

"Have you decided what you're going to wear tonight?"

"I've barely had a chance to look at the gowns. They're all beautiful."

"I could take a look with you, if you'd like?"

"Are you kidding, I'd love that! Oh, but Loki said you have things to do before the signing. I don't want to keep you."

"I still have some time. I wouldn't offer if I didn't," Frigga said, turning to give Jane a reassuring smile as they climbed the stairs.

Jane gladly accepted the offer, but wondered what the queen was really thinking. She knew Frigga worried about Loki, and she had to be concerned about the likelihood of Farbauti being here in a few hours, but her easy smiles and perfect composure betrayed none of it. Still, a certain air of formality clung to her that hadn't been there last night, dining alone with her, and maybe that was how a queen concealed her worries.

"Did you and Thor enjoy yourselves today?"

"Oh, yeah, it was great. He took me out to the Omun Valley viewpoint. We took this route along a creek, through cuts up through the rock, and then when you step through this stone archway and the view opens up in front of you…just amazing."

"It's a lovely spot, yes. I'm sorry it was cut short."

"It's okay. We couldn't have stayed much longer anyway. I think it took us longer than he expected to get there. I had to stop and rest a couple of times. Steep stairs, short legs," Jane said with a laugh. "But totally worth it." She was feeling it again now, actually, and was relieved to reach her floor. "Hi, Halfur," she said to the Einherjar at the end of the corridor, who nodded back to her and bowed to the queen.

"Let's see what we have here, shall we?" Frigga said when they reached the dressing room, pulling out the sleeves and skirts of the gowns on the simple mannequins before opening up the bureau.

"I, uh…I hope it's okay, Loki said I could go to the treaty-signing, too. Should I wear the same thing for that and the feast, or something different?"

"Oh, something different. The signing ceremony will be a sober affair, but sobriety will be in short supply at the feast. Different moods demand different wardrobes. And of course you may attend. Though…I hope you won't take offense, Jane, but I will assign a guard to remain near you. Based on what Loki's said, I don't think Farbauti, or her representative if she sends someone else, will cause trouble. But you are more vulnerable than the rest of us, and…well, you are our honored guest and we are obliged to ensure your safety."

"No offense taken. But actually, I don't think I'm going to be the most vulnerable person there."

Frigga's smile, the one she'd so carefully put together, fell away. "Other than physically, no," she agreed after a moment. "And I'm trying to remind myself who the most vulnerable person there will be. But it's hard when I keep thinking about myself instead."

"Yourself?"

"Myself. This is a day I never wanted to come. A day I went to great lengths to prevent from happening. And it's always been more about myself than about Loki, I think. I just…I can't explain it. I know it's misguided, even irrational, and when I try to say it aloud it's indefensible. He's a grown man and has been so for centuries and I still feel this way. I still don't want her anywhere near him. It was a mistake, ceasing our efforts to maintain contact with them. But I was relieved when we did. Now Loki has to face this. We all do."

Several seconds passed in silence. "Last night…Loki told me something. I don't think he'd mind me telling you. Maybe he already did, I don't know, but if he did it's probably worth repeating. He said when he was on Jotunheim, that Farbauti told him you weren't a real mother to him. You should have seen the look on his face when he told me that. And he said you are his real mother."

Frigga looked away, brought a finger to her eye to wipe at a tear before it could mark a path down her cheek. "He didn't tell me about that. I'm glad he doesn't doubt who I am or how much I love him, but how could she say such a hurtful thing to him? Why would she? I hate her. I hate her so much. I don't think I've ever said it aloud. I hate her and yet she gave me Loki whom I love with all my heart." She stopped to laugh at herself in exasperation, then made a careful swipe below the other eye. "I will be a great asset to Asgard's efforts to forge peace with Jotunheim, won't I, Jane?"

"I think it'll be a struggle for everyone. Probably for her, too…right?"

Frigga considered that, or tried to. Tried to imagine herself in Farbauti's position. Finding out the son she'd thought was dead was actually alive and the prince of an enemy realm raised among hatred toward the people of his birth. Trying to present herself as an equal despite the poor condition of her home and the legacy of defeat around her neck. The one time Frigga had met her, Farbauti had said little but carried herself with great pride. It was hard, though; Frigga would never have abandoned a child – any child, much less her own! – to die of exposure. "Thank you for reminding me of that. That Farbauti will be struggling, too. Even if she hides it, as we all will be. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't be unburdening myself like this onto you. I feel like I know you, Jane, even though I met you only a week ago…that is if we don't count that first time."

"We really shouldn't," Jane said with a laugh. "And it's okay, really. Actually I kind of feel the same. Like I know you. I did know you already, a little, through Loki."

"And I did know you a little, too, through Thor. He sang your praises to everyone in hearing distance upon his return from Midgard. Loki, as I'm sure you know, is considerably more tight-lipped."

"I can imagine," Jane said, a little embarrassed to think of Thor "singing her praises." A little pleased, too.

"Let's get back to these gowns, shall we?"

Following Frigga's need, Jane smiled and nodded, and did her best to lay her worries aside for now.

/


Random movie recommendation! If you like psychological drama (and my guess would be you do if you're reading this - unless you're only here to skim for Loki and Jane parts, perhaps! - because Beneath is unquestionably psychological drama genre) then do yourself a favor and go see "Bad Times at the El Royale" (psychological drama/thriller). Lots of characters with fantastic acting, incredibly drawn to play on your initial assumptions and then in quite minimalist ways give some pretty deep insights into who they really are. No movie has ever affected me the way this one has, in terms of the sheer craft of putting it together and bringing the audience into these characters' worlds. Your first introductions to the characters are generally only on the surface, what other people see of them, and later you get glimpses...yeah, "beneath." Because of that, then, also do yourself a favor and go in knowing as little as possible. You don't want any spoilers for this movie.

Responses to guest reviews: "Pouffy Kitteh": I think it probably did/does color Odin's perception. Not consciously, generally. But you can't "unknow" something you know, and you can't not notice that your one son is different in some ways than you and your biological son(s), and you combine that with Aesir prejudice against Jotuns and I think that implication is almost unavoidable. But I say it with lots of "qualifiers" b/c, no, my take on it is *not* that he was constantly scrutinizing Loki's behavior looking for the Jotun in him. Just that, when you observe something and form opinions about it, a thousand different things influence that opinion, most of which you're never conscious of, they're just part of your life experience, intertwined and inseparable from you. BTW, I *sort of* address this in one of my young Thor/Loki stories, "Echoes of the Frost," though on this occasion due to circumstance Odin is thinking more consciously about Loki's biological heritage. / "C": Loki was freaking out right along with you. :-) Nobody is happy to dredge up everything surrounding Baldur again, after they all managed to move on from it. Jane is the only one who feels differently, the shock of it and (at least so she is convinced) the injustice of it is very fresh for her and it *is* hard for her to grasp the timelines involved in their lifespans. And she does have a hard time holding back the outrage over it. (And it's kind of an affront to her that everyone else - including Loki, really - doesn't react with outrage.) She would *love* for them all to know how hard Loki tried to prevent it from happening, though for them it would just be evidence that Loki badly regretted his actions, which they already know, rather than evidence that Baldur's death was an accident. / "anonymouslurker": Thanks! I think that's what the movies gave us, a Loki who's incredibly sympathetic despite having done truly terrible things, so that's the Loki I wanted to continue here (though on a path toward some degree of redemption, without fundamentally changing who he is). And what you said about your own family situation, that is such an incredible thing to hear, thank you *so much* for sharing that. / "Star": Thanks! Yeah, Loki really told her very little about the whole thing. And he told her his version, just as Thor told his version. / "oulu": Thanks so much re Loki & Odin, that those dynamics ring true to you, I really appreciate that. Thanks for sharing your insights. Really agree with what you said about the bias. Odin probably went about all this backwards. He decided that his way of having no bias was to treat them the same, as though they were the same, which they weren't, and Odin's way of treating them generally worked in Thor's favor, which wasn't his intent, as absolutely he loved both. Odin would say he never had bias or showed bias. Odin didn't understand Loki or himself in all this. I didn't grow up with siblings and I don't have kids, so it always means a lot when I hear from those of you who have dealt with some of these issues...absent the thrones and alien planets and such (...I assume!). :-) / "ladymouse2": Thor-1 vs. Thor-2 Odin was shocking! Because I needed to reconcile them in my mind I came to interpret Thor-2 Odin as being overcome first by anger and then by grief, to the point of madness (I don't know what else to call it when you tell your guards to stop your son "by any means necessary," yikes, Dad!). Regardless of any of that, he's just not a warm and cuddly bear-hug kind of father. I do like to be able to show some of those little moments with Frigga in particular where you do see some of the rigidity fall away. But there's plenty of room in there to hate him, to love him, to fall anywhere in between. I'm glad this story gives you some places to wrestle with about him. And yes, this situation with Loki that really went wrong, yeah, that put a bit of "sand in the foundation." And...fireworks? Fireworks, you say? Hm. I suppose anything's possible! :-)

Previews for Ch. 193: Beneath meets Game of Thrones. OK, I just made that up. I've never seen Game of Thrones. But there are a lot of thrones represented, and probably more than one game being played. AKA, the garden party that really wasn't.

Excerpt:

"Ah, Loki. You are a master at making anything at all sound reasonable. I think I'm still fairly justified in feeling angry at you for that, and even if not, I can think of enough other reasons to be angry."

"Name one," Loki said with a smirk and a dismissive shrug.

"You tried to blow up one of the Nine Realms."

"It wasn't yours, was it?"