The Family Lokison (Part 4)

Old Acquaintances (LOKI)

Sigyn woke early to fetch breakfast with the children, and I took my time getting ready to attend war council with Odin and Thor upstairs. I wasn't familiar with the layout of the chambers given to us, and the whole place felt backward, with everything on the opposite side compared to Frigga's room and the space I once called my own as a prince.

Wasting time was also strategic—would any of the soldiers present in the palace know I'd been allowed to return, or was it some grand secret I should keep? I considered attending in disguise, perhaps looking like Freyr to be ignored.

But I was no coward. If they hated me, they hated me, and hiding wouldn't change their hearts any more than all the good deeds I'd done in Odin's place. Tucking my dagger into the back of my right boot for surreptitious safety, I chose to leave the chamber as myself and make a point to acknowledge all the people I passed.

Yesterday, when we traipsed through the city, no one gave us even a second glance—our Vanir tunics and the children kept others away. Asgardians were always wary of foreigners, which likely explained a lot of why my origins had been kept secret. Even Odin couldn't excuse or convince the citizens to accept my presence. Now that I could step back and examine his motivations as a father, it made more sense to raise me as his own than as a tool to unite our kingdom with Jotunheim's. Even I could understand that, as much as it pained me to admit.

The first to notice me was the servant girl who brought us our dinner the night before. I smiled at her as she passed me on the stairs, likely returning to the kitchens after fetching something for a noble in the higher floors. She gently nodded in my direction, but stopped when an older woman following her gasped at my sight.

"Y-you...it's you!" The older woman hugged the wall and didn't blink. Acid filled the air between us from her fear.

In the past, I would've reveled in it. Savored it. But now, it nauseated me. I stepped closer to the wall on the opposite side and put my hands up. "Good lady, I mean no harm."

The younger servant girl looked me up and down and snickered. "What's wrong, Anna?" she asked, reaching for her.

"You don't know?" she snapped, quickly darting her eyes back to me. "It's the king's false son. A monster. A Jotun. It's—"

"Loki. I am Loki. Please, I've come to uphold my oath to Asgard and defend her against what's to come." I swallowed hard and hoped Anna would hear me, since the younger of the two must not have known much of what I'd done wrong. She represented the hope I had in the new generation's ability to see me anew. "Whatever wrong I've done, I've paid for it. Though if you require a personal apology, I beg you to accept it now." I relaxed my face and let my hands slowly drop to my sides. "I'm sorry for any pain I've caused you. Truly."

Anna furrowed her brow and reflexively put a hand over her heart. "I...I-I-I..."

"Please excuse me. I have duties upstairs." I nodded to both of them and continued on my way, though the urge to cast a spell over myself to look like another young guard was strong.

Here's hoping they spread stories of these new words instead of inflated tales of my indiscretions...

***

Thor welcomed me at his side through the war council and encouraged me to speak up when Odin asked about our best defenses. Of all the soldiers present, I was the only one who'd stepped foot on Vigrid within the past decade, even though it was with Pluto and an army of ghosts. I still recalled it well enough to draw a new map of the portal from Vanaheim, where we would expect more allies to join us when the time came. My brother's presence helped me forget the many eyes of judgmental men and women who likely saw my involvement as some kind of entertainment. Surely they searched for and wanted to see my failure.