The Warling

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Nerves were not something that Loki was used to but as he sat facing Thor and Jane around the table in the King's private council chamber, he couldn't help but feel unease thanks to his newfound knowledge.

"You look unwell, Loki," Thor noted.

"I have felt better," he said, hardly able to meet Thor's eye. "Last night, Mira and I decided to take a walk in Odin's memories and we found... well, we found far more than either of us expected. We intended to find information that we could use against Odin, to bargain for my freedom once he is awakened, but... I find myself unable to keep what I learned from you."

"Loki, I don't think I have ever seen you so unsure. By the Norns, what could you have uncovered that is so bad?"

"I debated whether to tell you this or not," Loki said, finally meeting Thor in the eye. "Ignorance is bliss, as I myself can attest, but Mira insists that you deserve to know."

"Tell me, Brother, for surely there can be nothing so awful as you imagine."

"Oh, Thor." Loki almost sounded sad. "Our whole lives have been a lie, not just mine. Odin himself is a lie for while his father was Bor, his mother was Bestla, a Jotun. Odin is half Frost Giant."

Thor laughed. "You do spin some tall tales, brother, but your lies will not help you here."

"He's not lying, Thor, and we can prove it," Mira insisted. "The magic that keeps Loki looking Aesir fades when he touches the Casket of Ancient winters. If Odin is half Jotun, his appearance should also change when it touches it."

Thor actually seemed to be considering their point. "How do I know such a test will not just be your illusions?"

"We also discovered that Odin has a vault," Loki went on to explain. "I believe proof can be found there of everything we tell you today. He also has two brothers, Vili and Ve, both of whom he banished so that his true parentage might never be discovered. If we can find them, they will corroborate our story."

"So I am one quarter Jotun? That hardly seems like a terrible lie, especially in light of your heritage, Brother."

"I'm truly sorry, Thor," Loki took a deep breath, "but Frigga is not your mother."

Thor actually seemed to pale slightly. "Surely this is a cruel prank, Loki?"

"I wish it were, Thor. I know what it's like to have everything you believe to be true, torn asunder, but I speak the truth. Did you never wonder why Odin waited until so late in life to have children? Frigga was unable to have them. Odin is your father but your mother is called Jord, also a... Jotun. Odin brought you home following a diplomatic mission and gave you to Frigga to raise. Laufey saw his taking of you as theft, and it is part of the reason the Jotun waged war against Asgard. You were supposed to be their hero, not Asgard's."

"No," Thor whispered, now looking a rather sickly shade of green. "That cannot be true, I cannot be a..."

"Frost Giant? Because you are too good and pure to be three quarters Jotun?" Loki seethed.

Mira put her hand over Loki's. She could understand his anger, Thor thinking that it was all right for Loki to be a Jotun, but feeling himself above such things. However, hurling insults wouldn't help any of them.

"The Casket of Ancient Winters is in the weapons vault," Mira said calmly. "It seems that is one sure way to prove your parentage once and for all."

"This is your doing!" Thor glared at her, pure malice in his eyes.

"I convinced Loki to tell you the truth, yes, because I lived a lie on Earth and I was desperate to know the truth. I didn't cheat on Frigga with a Giantess though, and I didn't steal you from your birth mother. You're angry, and you're right to be angry, but not with me or Loki."