Last Time...

"Why…" Hera tried, failed and tried again. "Why did you abandon him in the temple?"

"…What?"

"It's what he'll think when he finally figures out what he is, because it's what Oðin believes happened." Hera continued, her voice shrill as she shouted. "Why did you leave him there?!"

"…Hera…" Laufey tried, seeming to test the name in their mouth. "Where else would we have placed that which we cherished most?"

Now it was Hera's turn. "…What?"

"We were at war." Laufey emphasized. "We placed the Casket of Ancient Winters with him, deep in the temple, surrounded by warriors to keep them safe, in a place we believed to be protected."

Hera's mind was clouded as thoughts raced through her mind, overwhelmed as she was with what she'd just learned; the daggers she'd held clattering to the ground.

"The temple was supposed to be safe, was supposed to be protected." Laufey continued to explain, inching ever closer, though still not trying to reach out and touch her. "We would not have…We did not abandon him…and we will not abandon you."

Chapter 126

"I don't…I don't understand…" Hera stammered, backing away slowly, too many thoughts running through her mind. "You…You didn't…?"

She almost didn't register how Laufey stopped their approach, how they had knelt in front of her. The Jötunn was incredibly tall, so even knelt down they towered over her. There wasn't much else Laufey could do to make themselves less imposing, but Hera wasn't paying attention to that part. She was panicking now. If Loki hadn't been abandoned…Had Oðin lied? Had he simply not known? She didn't know, and didn't know if she would ever be able to ask.

"No…we didn't." Laufey answered, keeping their voice low.

"Why are you different?" Hera can't help but ask next, looking to them in confusion. "I don't…I don't understand."

Laufey only paused, looking uncertain, not moving from their knelt position before her.

"You're…kind." Hera fumbled to explain, realizing how messed up that sounded out loud. "When Loki finally does meet you, you are…cruel. What changes?"

"Are you sure 'tis me he meets?" Laufey reposed, catching Hera off guard.

She'd assumed it was, not having reason to question Loki's memory before this. He was a master of illusion, but that didn't mean that he always knew when one was before him either, wrongfully assuming that he himself could not be fooled. His own skin had been an illusion he'd not seen through his entire life, not until it had been forcibly removed. Looking back on her memories of Loki meeting Laufey, Hera now had to wonder if it was indeed Laufey she saw in them. If it was something like she could do, altered to fit whatever was needed at the time, it would certainly explain why the Laufey before her now was so different.

"Can you…Are you able to create multiples of yourself?" Hera hazarded to suggest. "Ones that can act independently for a time?"

Laufey slowly began to smile, a slight thing that kept their more pointed teeth veiled just a touch, as they nodded. "That, I can do."

"Then…I think I have an idea, but I'll need to know more before I can be certain of it." Hera continued. "Will you…Will you tell me about the war? About you and Fárbauti…About…About everything?"

Hera wasn't sure herself what she was asking, but Laufey seemed to understand, nodding to her question.

"I can do that." Laufey agreed, before slowly standing up to their full height once more, though bending down enough that Hera could place her hand on their arm if she wished. "In return, would you tell me about yourself? About your life? I know I said as much before, but Fárbauti and I would like to get to know you…that is, if you will allow it."

"I can do that." Hera agreed, hesitating for a moment before reaching out for their offered arm. "Is there a reason Fárbauti isn't here now?"

"Let's just say he was overly excited about the mere possibility of seeing you. I managed to impress upon him that you would likely be overwhelmed already, that such enthusiasm might make you more so, and that it could likely cause more damage than good." Laufey explained as the two of them began walking towards the entrance Laufey had been standing in before. "He is waiting for us, probably accosting the kitchen staff in his efforts to prepare something he believes worthy of a first meeting such as this. He may decide to take over the kitchen entirely."

"So he's like Mrs. Weasley." Hera noted, though found herself explaining when Laufey looked curious at the statement. "Enthusiastically affectionate, loves to cook and care for her children; a bit overwhelming, but she all but adopted me from the day her kids brought me home. She is…a fierce woman. I'm convinced she was a Valkyrie in a past life."

"They would have much in common indeed." Laufey nodded in fondness.

Hera hesitated to ask this, but the height discrepancy between herself and Laufey wouldn't leave her be. "Don't laugh, but is…is Fárbauti shorter than you?"

A light chuckling managed to escape Laufey anyway as the two of them left the room.

Internally, Salazar was panicking, but outwardly he portrayed a calm and charismatic air to any who spoke to him. Because the stories did not mention two attendants in waiting, he'd wondered if maybe something would happen to one of them, but had kept those thoughts to himself. While Hera knew these people, and may even trust them to an extent, he did not have any history with them to base that on. He could not let his guard down with so many unknown elements at play, and now they were down a person. As far as things went, this wasn't looking good.

While he kept Thor from stumbling into yet another Jötunn, Salazar took a breath and tried to take an objective stock of his situation. He was in the distant past, on an alien planet, alone. Hera was nowhere to be seen. Whether she was injured, dead, or somehow incapacitated, he didn't know. This meant that he was in charge of making sure that Thor managed to pass as Frigga for the foreseeable future.

Thrymr seemed to think nothing of Thor's many blunders, while Salazar's eye twitch at the mere thought of them. Not that he didn't have questions, mind you, but the Jötunn male bought every excuse Salazar gave; though, granted, the voice he used was not his own. While he hadn't gone the full shape-shifting mile, having expected Hera to be the 'Loki-esque' character mentioned, Salazar had at least prepared enough to aid in the venture. His hair had been lengthened to fall in graceful waves around his face and shoulders, and his voice had been altered. Add a bit of make up, and his already slight body frame, the robes he'd chosen to wear did the rest.

Thor grunted in displeasure at being jostled so, but Salazar held no sympathy.

"If you had done what we told you to, you'd be able to walk around yourself." Salazar hissed out the side of his face, and Thor huffed. "You can't even speak, because you refused voice altering charms! I would like to remind you that those are reversible."

Thor only crossed his arms, which of course highlighted just how muscular the man was, and turned his head.

"I had no idea you were so muscular, my lady." Thrymr commented, seeing this.

"But, of course!" Salazar immediately commented, keeping his annoyance out of his voice with herculean effort; this time speaking loud enough for Thrymr to hear, of course. "A strong woman bears strong children, after all. You would not expect her to be weak, would you? She was Queen of Ásgarðr for many years, and a strong warrior even before."

Thrymr is already nodding as if this made perfect sense to him, but in a more quiet and worried voice, asked. "Why has she not spoken?"

"Oh, that is because she is nervous with both fear and anticipation about the wedding night." Salazar answered easily. "She was with the All-father for many years, you know, and is worried what you will think of her because of this."

Thor began to shake slightly, though Salazar knew it was likely from anger; the action, however, easily convinced Thrymr of Salazar's words.

"Fear not, my lady!" Thrymr insisted, clearly hoping to reassure his love. "I will not be cruel, like that bilgesnipe of an Ásgarðian. No offence meant to either of you, but I believe we Jötnar to be far superior in how we treat our ladies."

Salazar could only grin as Thor continued to shake in anger, making a point to hide it terribly as he pretended to eye the crowd for a different reason, sounding demure as he replied. "I'll keep that in mind."

Thrymr grinned broadly at that, as if he'd scored a victory for helping Jötunheimr to steal another Ásgarðian woman from their clutches. "I must see to a personal matter, but I shall return soon."

Thor turned his head back to him as soon as Thrymr was gone, and hissed. "I can't believe you said those things!"

"I'm playing a part, you dolt!" Salazar hissed right back. "In case you haven't noticed, we are on another realm, in enemy territory, and Hera. Is. Missing!"

Thor startled at that. Salazar had to remind himself that Thor wouldn't have noticed Hera having been missing, so it wasn't fair of him to expect it of him. Had Thor been willing to sacrifice his pride enough to shave his beard, this would not be the case, so Salazar had very little sympathy for the crown prince. Had he not gotten himself into this mess, Hera would not have felt the need to help him at all. Likely, there was some kind of vengeance that she was exacting from the young man; there'd been something to that feral grin she'd given.

"Don't. Don't you dare think about breaking character now." Salazar hissed, when it looked like Thor was about to do just that. "Where ever she is, we will have to trust that she can make her way back to us. We must continue on as we are. Do you understand me?"

Thor nodded, though his body language seemed to hold a certain amount of reservation. At that moment, Thrymr returned, all smiles and completely enamoured with 'Frigga'. He swept Thor up with an arm, and began guiding him around the room. Salazar was powerless to stop it, as it had happened so quickly. Thor could only nod or shake his head at Thrymr's questions, unable to do anything else, likely with no idea that Salazar wasn't with him.

"Do not worry for your friend." Salazar hears from somewhere to his right, his eyes still on Thor. He nodded absently, not relaxing in his vigilance, when he hears. "She is well."

Salazar's blood ran cold; an irony in this place, as it was actually quite warm for them.

"Hera?" He inquired.

"With the royal family." The voice replied.

"She is safe?" Salazar questioned, chancing a glance at them.

"She is." The young Jötunn confirmed.

"Good." Salazar stated, not allowing himself to relax. "She'd better be."

There was something about this that didn't sit right with him. It felt like there was a deception in the air, and Salazar couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Thor had committed far too many blunders for someone not to have noticed, but no one had commented on it; save for Thrymr. Salazar looked back to the crowd once more, waiting for something, some clue to help him understand. There was a growing suspicion that this whole thing had been a ruse, that they had fallen for a trap of some sort.

"How many of your guards are aware this is a ruse?" Salazar asked, his eyes still scanning the room, even as he attempted to keep himself aware of Thor's actions.

"…All of them."

Hera was in shock as Laufey told the story of their life. She didn't want to trust that she'd always know when she was being lied to, because she'd made the mistake of thinking her ability to see magic was infallible; that wasn't a mistake she wanted to make again. Listening to them now, if there was a lie, Hera couldn't find it. They spoke about Oðin's conquest of the realms along side a being of equally terrible power, one they could no longer remember the name of, and the fear of the Jötnar at seeing this. They spoke of a desperate plan to take over Miðgarðr, anything to get them some sort of foothold in the battle against the king of Ásgarðr. It had, of course, failed miserably.

Things weren't quite as bad as they could have been. Yes, the Jötnar were isolated, but they were free. Oðin was not interested in an enemy he believed subjugated. Much of the surface was harsh and inhospitable, but there were settlements in the places that were available. Most of their civilization now lived underground because of this, in the mountains, below the frozen wastelands. The temple Loptr had been left in was one such place they could still go, and every year a trip was made in remembrance.

She thought these things over in her mind as she waited for Laufey to return. They'd gone to get Fárbauti. Thankfully, this meeting would be a one on one, as opposed to the banquet Fárbauti had intended. That would still happen, Hera wagered, but Laufey had agreed with her that they should meet privately first. Hera could admit, at least to herself, that she was nervous about the whole thing.

It wasn't that she'd left Salazar to tend to Thor on his own. She knew he could handle it, and he wouldn't do more than hurt the crown prince's pride if it was called for. She was nervous because these were the parents of her soul. While James and Lily would always be her parents, they could not give her what she needed now, and had given their blessing to find it where she could. It still felt like a betrayal to them, and to Frigga in a way; Though she could think of Frigga as Mother, she could not think of her as Mum, and that admission hurt.

"…Hera?"

Hera looked up at the address, to see Laufey entering the room, followed by another Jötunn; this one looked slightly more male than androgynous, though Hera was at a loss as to explain how so, and of course he would be tall too.

"Hera, this is Fárbauti." Laufey gently introduced.

His ruby eyes looked mournful, but most of all Hera noted, they looked kind.

"I saw the image Frigga portrayed of you, but I was hesitant to believe it, though I hoped." Fárbauti stated softly, shaking slightly as if in effort to hold himself back. "May I…May I hold you?"

Hera realized she was shaking too. She'd meant to reserve judgment. She'd meant to test them for lies, but…None of what Laufey had told her had held lies, and that meant that she could dare to hope for this. Would she be betraying Tony if she admitted that she wanted this? He'd done his very best by her, but he wasn't a parent.

She found herself nodding slowly, and Fárbauti hesitantly opened his arms. Slowly, carefully, she found herself in a gentle embrace. No one had ever held her like this; so gentle, it was as if he was afraid she would break, and yet so fiercely as if he thought the wind would snatch her away. The closest thing she could compare it to were Tony's hugs. Tears were falling down her face, and she realized she wasn't the only one; Fárbauti cried, even as he tried to console her, as Laufey wrapped their arms around the both of them.

"Sálbarn." Fárbauti whispered fiercely through his tears. "My sálbarn. You've come home."

At that Hera tried to back away to explain, but Fárbauti just held on tightly.

"I know. I know you can not stay." He continued, causing Hera to relax just a touch. "You are Fated, and your soul travels. I understand what it means; that no matter how tightly I wish to hold on, to keep you here, I can not. But in this moment, for just a little while, you are home."

…

"So…I understand a lot of what happened, but…" Hera awkwardly began, when the tears had dried. She looked embarrassed at being so open about her emotions, and he wasn't sure what to make of that yet. "…I still don't understand the importance of the temple."

Fárbauti looked to Laufey in confusion, to which his lovely spouse thankfully took pity on him by explaining. "She doesn't understand why we placed Loptr there, or why we left our child with the Casket of Ancient Winters."

"Oh…" He realized how much she still didn't know, how much she would have to learn, and hoped that his next words wouldn't overwhelm her. "Hera…While Laufey was able to use the Casket, it did not belong to them."

"I don't…I don't understand…" She admitted, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What does that mean? I thought any Jötunn could use it."

"Any Jötunn can, but those who can truly wield it are very few." Fárbauti carefully explained. "…At that time during the war, there was only one…far too young…"

Hera stilled as it slowly settled over her what he was saying, what it meant.

"I used it for things I should not have, the invasion of Miðgarðr among them, and it…Something went wrong. I believe I pushed it past the breaking point, to get more than it could give, and it shut itself down in an effort to protect itself." Laufey admitted, face twisted in a grimace. "I'd made a grave error in judgement, you see, thinking that the arrival of Loptr had granted me more favour than I truly had. The Casket of Ancient Winters was connected to him. I knew this, saw with my own eyes how it reacted when placed close to him, and still I used it anyway. In my hubris, I didn't think…When its light went out, his health…His health deteriorated, and I panicked."

"The temple we placed Loptr within is known for being a nexus of healing, and so we hoped it would help him. Laufey left the Casket there as well in the hopes that reuniting it with Loptr would aid in healing him further." Fárbauti continued. "We left him surrounded by warriors as a last defence. We didn't think…"

"We didn't think Oðin would be so cruel as to cripple us in such a way, to hit us where it would hurt most, though we should have." Laufey trailed off, turning their head away in an effort to collect themselves. "The war was lost. He'd left us with our lives, but I didn't understand why, and then I saw the blood upon the temple steps. I didn't think, rushed in without a word. Loptr was gone. In my anguish, I kept turning over bodies, hoping one of the soldiers had hidden him beneath them."

"We received word later, as we tended to what soldiers we could, that the Casket of Ancient Winters resided in the All-father's vault. We hadn't even realized it had been taken, too focused on finding Loptr, and then mourning when we believed him lost to us." Fárbauti continued on. "Neither of us realized what had truly happened to Loptr until Queen Frigga started reaching out to us in secret. She told us what the All-father had done, what our son has grown to become. She told us how she'd held her tongue when she should have spoken. She admits her part in this. I am angry that she would withhold such things from him out of a misguided sense of loyalty to that foul…, but she reached out to us, and it is because of this that we can get to know you as you are."

Hera fidgeted a bit, seeming to shy away from the anger in his voice, and Farbauti was reminded that this little one held Queen Frigga in high regard.

"I will refrain from expressing my anger overly much, Sálbarn." He promised. "She has realized her error, and is doing what she can for you now. I will try to remember that."

"It's okay." Hera replied, allowing a small smile to grace her lips. "I'm not a parent. I don't know what it's like, so I'm not about to tell you that you can't feel how you do."

"I should hope you are not a parent!" Laufey exclaimed, eyes wide as they grinned down to her. "You are still far too young!"

"I'm sixteen!" Hera huffed, her face turning slightly purple as she blushed in embarrassment. "Seventeen if you count a bit of time travel, but still! That's more old enough for the parts to work!"

"Practically a baby!" Fárbauti teased.

"You know, on Earth, I'm almost an adult." Hera remarked, which made both he and Laufey still and look to each other in worry. "What?"

"You are of Miðgarðr?" Laufey asked, quiet and mournful.

"Yeah, but I'm also this too, so who knows what that will do to my lifespan." Hera reminded them, in a clear effort to assuage their fears. "Plus, I recently became a god of Magic, so…there's that."

"…Just what kind of life have you had, Little Sálbarn?" Farbauti couldn't help but wonder.

"…About that…" Hera hedged. "You have to promise not to invade Miðgarðr again."

"I would not." Laufey supplied with a nod. "Your two brothers would not wish it, not knowing how high the cost was the last time."

"You have two more children?" Hera asked, wide eyed. She didn't sound angered or jealous by this; to Fárbauti's relief, she sounded delighted. "…How would you feel about a few more?"

"…A few more?" Fárbauti wondered in confusion.

"Well, I mean…There's me, if you still want…" Hera grimaced, an expression that was quickly melted away with a quick hug. "Er…There's Salazar. I sort of made him my twin by magic, so he's more like me than not. His last life was a psychopath that killed my human parents in an effort to get to me to do the same, but things happened, and now he's my twin. Long story, that. He's guarding Thor just now, actually…And well…There's Tony. He's strictly from Earth, but he's related to me through my human blood. He…He didn't know about me for a long time, and adopted me when he realized what things were like. He's been really supportive, and I don't want to just abandon him, ya know? Granted, he's not technically going to be born for another few centuries, I suppose, all things considering, but…He's my broðir."

Fárbauti and Laufey exchanged a glance. It appeared their little soul child was a rambler when she got nervous. They'd thought they would hopefully be able to count her as their child, but it appeared they would be claiming more as well. It also appeared that Hera had lived a difficult and strangely chaotic life, especially if she was making them promise not to invade Miðgarðr again. Býleistr and Helblindi will no doubt be thrilled with their sibling being a possible harbinger of chaos, as they seemed determined to test the patience of their parents on a daily basis.

A few hours later, and Fárbauti was really wishing he hadn't agreed with Laufey to not invade Miðgarðr again. These people had done what to their little sálbarn? The neglect, the abuse, the outright dangerous stunts, and Hera just acted like it was all normal! Well, not all of it. She was standoffish in regards to most of those she called 'Dursleys', and whoever 'Dumbledore' was, but that still left a lot she didn't seem to grasp shouldn't have been acceptable to have happened to her.

Even understanding that she wasn't quite a child in the way that they knew a sixteen or seventeen year old to be, it was still shocking that she didn't think anything of risking her own life the way she had. The stories she told suggested she knew it was wrong for other children, but because the adults in her life didn't object to her doing it, she assumed it was okay for her. In fact, she seemed confused when telling stories of the few adults that did object to her risky behaviour, like she didn't quite understand why they were doing so. The more she talked, the more they understood, but it was still a lot to take in. In silent conversations with each other, both Fárbauti and Laufey understood that they could not treat her quite like the child she was, but that did not mean they could not try to remind her of the caution she should have.

"Would you like to meet your brothers now?" Fárbauti inquired, knowing that he could not keep her all to himself and Laufey for long; they'd already pushed it with the time they had.

"Would their names be Býleistr and Helblindi, by any chance?" Hera asked, shocking them.

"How do you…How do you know their names?" Laufey wondered, unable to keep the shock from their voice. "They were born long after Loptr was lost to us."

"Er…Miðgarðr?" Hera hedged, biting at her lower lip.

Farbauti and Laufey shared another look, realizing that perhaps their children had gotten into a lot more than they had admitted to either of them.

Meanwhile, Salazar was at the end of his rope. His moral compass didn't exactly point north on a good day, but he thought he'd been exceptionally patient with the entire situation. The guards, at least, had known his ruse all along. Thor was still clueless to everything, eating great amounts of food enough that even Thrymr began to question what was going on; nerves could only explain so much. Worst of all, no matter what he did or what spell he cast, Hera was still missing!

He didn't care that she was with the royal family. What he cared about was the fact that there had been no contact from her to assure him she was alright. He refused to take the word of someone he didn't know, no matter how well meaning the Jötunn messenger had been. People were going to start dying if things didn't settle soon. There was no way he could keep Thor from being noticed for much longer, as his excuses for the things Thor did were far past the point of ridiculousness as it was.

It was almost a relief when Mjölnir was brought out, something Salazar had to marvel at. He could only imagine that the only reason it had been able to be taken, and was now able to be handled by anyone, was the fact that Thor had not respected the weapon. If the stories were true in any sense, that was likely to happen a few times, but Thor would learn at least that lesson. As it was, Thor was practically vibrating in his seat. The fact that Hera was still not in sight was concerning, but he would have to hope that she knew what she was doing, and could reunite with them at some later point in time.

"AHHHHHH!" Thor shouted, Mjölnir now in hand, lightning arcing throughout the room.

"Damn it, Thor, no!" Salazar yelled, trying to get his attention, but it was too late. Thor was smashing his way through the room in an effort to escape it. "So help me, you great oaf, think!"

He sent a burst of magic throughout the room, perhaps putting more effort into it than he should have, because it caused everyone other than the two of them to fall asleep instantly; resulting in the entire crowd falling to the floor at once.

"That was a coward's way out!" Thor shouted. "We should have slaughtered them!"

"I can't believe I'm the one saying this, but not everything requires bloodshed!" Salazar shot back. "We have to find Hera, and get out of here."

"Fine, but when we get back, I'm telling everyone I killed them all." Thor snapped at him, trying to stomp from the room; the effect wasn't quite as intimidating as he'd wanted though, due to him tripping on his now blood splattered dress.

"We find Hera, and then get out of here." Salazar repeated. "After that, I don't give a flying fuck what you tell them."

It stumped the crown prince for a moment, allowing Salazar to walk past, though a murmured phrase followed.

"I did not know it was even possible to fly and fuck at the same time."

AN: From what I was able to find, Sál means soul. Barn means child. So unless I've butchered this, and that's entirely possible, sálbarn would mean soul child.