Loki leaves the garden deep in thought. This place just seems so surreal. Even the universe that had been plunged into pitch black by the Dark Elves, or the one where his former master Thanos was raging his Infinity War, had not felt as strange as this twisted paradise does. Apart from being seen as a woman and potential mate to his own brother, Loki would consider this kingdom an ideal place to call his home. He gets wistful for a minute. But making his way back to the royal chambers, he fights down the emotions, to focus instead on his surroundings again. He has yet to encounter his alter ego, and starts to worry. Would the news of him presenting differently not have reached him yet? 'Or her?', he thinks, half amused and half still angered at this insolence.
Then his fears return, when he sees Thor exiting the queen's chambers, exclaiming rather loud: “I don't know where she is!” Since he might as well try his luck staying invisible, Loki keeps still, but when Thor turns to him, he seems to sense something, as he furrows his brows. But before he can even decide, whether to keep up the illusion, two children appear behind the blond warrior king. One is a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, in a rather robust leather dress with a red belt and some golden ornaments. The other is a little boy with black hair and green eyes, wearing a more elegant, but still comfortable dark green robe. And both their garments are marked with the royal crest.
He barely has time to observe this, because as soon as the children turn to his direction, the young girl's eyes light up, and she shouts: “But there she is! Mother, mother, we were looking all over for you!”, while running up to him. Loki freezes in shock, and stares from the girl closing in on him, to Thor, who is now smiling and encouraging the little boy: “Well come along Albor, go and greet your mother!” “But I don't see her! Is she hiding again?”, the boy asks timid, reaching for Thor's hand. Loki already braces himself for an onslaught by the girl, but she halts a few feet from him, pointing in his direction and confirming: “She is right there Albor! I can almost see her!”, then asking him, “Mother, where were you? You had promised to join us for a picnic!”
He can hear her disappointment through her excitement, and she puts her hands on her hips, adopting as much of an intimidating pose a child half his size can muster, to look up with a frown. Thor and the boy have come closer meanwhile, the boy holding on to his hand, cowering a little in his shadow. But he views Loki with an anxious and questioning face. And unlike the girl, who so confidently poses in front of him, the boy seems to actually look into his eyes. “Are you sure, it is her, father? Not some monster?”, he addresses Thor, who simply chuckles. Loki knows he must take hold of the situation quickly, and so when the girl demands: “Well, show yourself, mother! You're scaring Albor!”, he does what he knows best: cause drama!
With the most intimidating revelation of himself, making his features recognizable at once, while creating the illusion of darkness around him, he bellows in an appalled voice: “Is that any way to greet a king, young lady?” The effect is not lost on the child, although she tries her best to hide it, and even Thor flinches a little, but the boy's reaction is priceless! Screeching in a high pitch, he hurries to hide behind the great warrior, wrapping himself in his cape, and starts to cry. Loki has to keep a straight face, still glaring at the young girl. She has such a likeness to Thor, it is clear that she must in fact be his daughter. But was the boy also of his blood? His features, as far as Loki observes, could be compared to himself much more than to his brother. Could that be? Would they both have taken a woman to lie with, just to create offspring to raise together? Why would his other self even agree, if those born of his blood could never be considered worthy of the throne?
Trying to figure out how these children are connected to him, Loki still focuses on the girl made speechless by his performance, while Thor turns around himself more than once, to detach the crying boy from his cape, before kneeling down to calm him. Distracted by this, the little princess has turned to her brother, so Loki reclaims her attention, demanding: “Well? Are you not going to apologize to me?” But even as she opens her mouth, her little brother pipes up scared: “I'm sorry! I'm sorry, please don't eat me! Please don't eat me, I'm so sorry!” “But Albor, your mother will not eat you! She loves you, you are safe!”, Thor tries to assure the crying youngling.
Loki is still staring at the girl, who now rolls her eyes at this. He notices that she looks as annoyed as he feels, and has to fight down a smirk of approval for her, so he turns to bark at Thor instead: “I thought I had made it clear how I wished to be addressed! Do I need to repeat it to you?” His brother is now hugging the little boy, to pick him up, but gives Loki a look of confusion, wondering: “You even want the children to adopt your title?” Loki straightens himself up with pride and demands: “Of course! A king deserves respect and obedience, from his subjects as much as from his children!”
Now he can see Thor's face harden. It had looked that way before, when he had pushed him away during their first interaction. Then he speaks: “It is what Odin used to say. I thought you hated his line of thinking?” Loki feels his throat swell, as though a lump is forming in it, though he cannot say exactly what causes it. He tries to stay cool, stating: “I do not approve of his ways, but I will demand what is rightfully mine!” He can see Thor struggling internally, and he gets nervous. But then his brother lets out a small sigh, and smiling at the girl he urges: “Very well. Lanay, you heard your mother's request...”
“Father's, if you will!”, Loki interrupts, confusing them both. They do not protest, but it is clear that they find this demand just as strange as he finds the title of mother, and he wonders why his alter ego would be keen to adopt it, when the children must clearly have at least a wet-nurse who birthed and weaned them, that would deserve the title much more. Still, the young princess obliges, turning again to bow to him and say: “I apologize for my insolence, father! I did not mean to be disrespectful towards you.” However, she does give him a sincere look of disappointment, as she closes: “We had only been looking forward to spending the afternoon with you so much! We missed you!”
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The Jötunn prince has a hard time keeping his face sublime. Those words... He had last heard them as a young boy, and coming from his mother. Speaking for the allfather and Thor, as a white lie, desperately trying to make him feel a part of the family he never truly was a part of. Bitterness is rising in his chest, remembering much too clear his sense of misplacement in their midst, and how he only much later discovered the truth to why he was feeling this way. Odin never truly adopted him. And as for Thor... Loki cannot even claim, that his brother didn't care for him at all. But he didn't need him. He had his friends. His companions. His admirers. While Loki had noone.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Apart from the queen, who tried to share her love between them equally. Thus not nearly giving him enough by comparison. And Odin made sure, they would compete and compare every little thing between them, trying to best each other. With Thor always coming out on top. Oh how he despised him! Him and everything he stood for. Even though it was mostly Odin's doing. And just now, a little blond child, of Thor's blood, eager, stubborn, proud, like her father, was telling him in all earnest: 'We missed you!'
He tries to focus more on his underlying hatred of Thor, to remain stern, and he replies: “Unsurprisingly so. Yet that does not excuse your behavior! I expect better from you in the future!” The princess and her father still eye him in confusion, when the little prince again speaks up, demanding: “But why must we call her father? Are you not our father, father? Then who is my mother?”, looking lost at Thor. Loki's lips curl up just a bit, thinking he might be able to persuade his brother to adopt this silly prefix instead, but the blond king just holds up the prince, to tell him: “It is merely a change in title, Albor! Like... like calling him 'Captain Loki', do you remember?”
The trickster furrows his brows a bit, but the little boy's eyes light up, and he chirps: “Oh, so now he is the great pirate again? And I'm second in command?” The princess is rolling her eyes once more, but walks towards her brother, set down again by Thor, to explain: “No silly, that was just a game we played! This is not the pirate bay after all. Mo... Father just wants us to address him this way, because he feels more like it.” Loki's mouth parts upset, but he holds his tongue, carefully observing while everyone else's attention rests with the boy.
“But he was a great Captain! The most fearsome and ruthless plunderer of the big sea!”, the little prince starts to rave, and points to Thor, “He made you walk the plank five times, father!” The warrior king smiles back at his son: “Yes, that he did!” “And I got to keelhaul you!”, Albor goes on, as his sister joins in: “Yes, that was fun! And I got to avenge my father, when I challenged the Captain to a duel!” “And I thought he really died!”, the boy remarks a little shaken, so Thor assures him: “Well, as I always tell you, your father Loki is the master of illusions! He still manages to fool me to this day, so you are forgiven your gullibility!”
The God of Mischief meanwhile starts to feel misplaced once more. He observes a family, sharing a happy memory that he was not a part of, even though he is. Or more, his alter ego. It still confuses him. Why did his other self enjoy his life so much? Even playing silly little games with his brother's offspring, pampering them, catering to their egos. And then he realizes, that it might be too conspicuous, if he kept up his cold, prideful facade with them at all times. He would need to be more considerate, if he didn't want Thor to become suspicious of him. And so relaxing his face a little, he brings himself back into play, by saying: “You are correct, I am unsurpassed in my ability to recreate myself. And maybe I sometimes take it too far.”, now all three eye him attentive, “So I have a proposition: if you still wish to spend time with me, why don't you join me for a play this evening? I wish to attend the royal theater tonight.”
Thor seems a bit unsure, but Lanay asks right away: “Oh, what are they showing?” “The Peacock in the Willow.”, Loki informs her with a tiny smile, which widens into a more genuine one, when the children both exclaim: “But that's our favorite!” Acting more sure than he is, Loki nods: “And don't I know it! So, shall we get ready?”, viewing his brother. Thor now seems relieved and thus agrees: “By all means! And say, would it suit you, if we took the rest of the picnic with us? Or would you rather order something new?”
This is another pleasant surprise to Loki. Not just that his brother even bothers to think about the logistics of dinner at all, and that he comes up with a practical solution. But the fact that they will be able to eat while attending a play, is a novelty he welcomes. When Thor and him had been growing up, their parents also took them to the theater a few times. And though Loki usually enjoyed it, at least more than Thor, he did always find it very strict and sterile, having to sit in the darkness for hours, not allowed to speak, eat, drink, or move too much. Even leaving to go to the lavatory was frowned upon, and although he understood that you would not be able to follow the play, if you had a hearty feast at the same time, letting people quietly discuss the story, while enjoying light snacks and refreshments, would only add to the entertainment in his eyes.
And now it seems that his prayers had been answered, and most likely by himself again. So he agrees with a benevolent smile: “I see not what speaks against it. What I miss, I can still order as we sit!”, making the children join hands and cheer: “Oh hurray! Picnic and a play! Picnic and a play!”, as if chanting a rhyme they had been taught. It almost makes Loki jealous, seeing how lively the little ones are in the presence of their supposed parents, while him and Thor needed to be on their best behavior whenever the allfather was just in the same room as them.
Then his brother brings him back to the current objective, asking: “Have you already decided what you wish to wear?”, somewhat surprising him, and thinking how he had failed to find any male attire for himself, he starts to get nervous. He doesn't want to present as Thor's queen, especially not in public, and after announcing his demand to be called a king as well. But having to keep up an illusion of a garment for hours in a dim lit theater, when he was hoping to focus on the play, would also be too tiresome. He cannot back out again now, or it might be suspicious.
But then he gets an idea, and putting on another trusting smile proposes: “To be honest I have not. How about you assist me in finding an outfit worthy of a king to wear to this occasion?” He can only win with this request. Either his other self did in fact own some masculine garments, and his brother could call for the servants to fetch it, or even lead him to it the way he did with his bell for the kitchen. Or he would fail miserably, by only picking out various female costumes, and then Loki could blame him for ruining his wish to go out.
Or blame the children, because the princess leans in to beg: “Oh please, can we help too? Please Mo... Father! You know how much I love looking through your wardrobe!” Loki first furrows his brows a little, but then smiles at her, offering: “Hm. Oh, why not. I shall give you the chance to redeem yourself, as a trusted advisor to your king!” He would think to come across as condescending to her, but the little girl just smiles, and taking her brother by the hand she chirps: “Come along Albor!”, to return to the queen's chambers.
Loki is again surprised that the children simply run off without having their parents dismiss them first, but following them with his eyes, his gaze gets stuck on Thor, who beams back at him with pride. Embarrassed, the Jötunn prince turns to follow the little ones, but when he wants to pass his brother, he gently takes him in his arms, to whisper in his ear: “And here I was, worried that you were too grumpy to spoil them! Oh Loki, never stop playing your tricks on me!”, and gives him another sweet peck on the cheek. Luckily, that is all the touching the Frost Giant has to endure, and so he keeps up his friendly manner, escorting his brother into his chambers, to pick out some new clothes.
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