The Unthinkable Offering (A Loki FanFic)

The Distance

No sooner than they settled in at the palace, Odin requested an audience with Loki. He groaned as he pulled his boots back on.

"Do you think he found evidence for who was behind the invasion?" Eisa asked as he kissed her goodbye.

"Possibly," Loki lied. "I don't know how long he will keep me. Please eat lunch without me."

Eisa turned a little green, "Do not mention food. I am going to go lie down and pray for the palace to quit spinning."

Despite the dose of medication beforehand, the trip via Bifrost had given her quite the case of vertigo. She almost made it to the other side of the bridge before needing to stop to be sick.

He suppressed a chuckle and kissed her once more on the forehead.

He had a feeling about what Odin wanted to discuss, and he turned out to be right.

"Ten months of marriage, four weeks on a romantic vacation," The King was pacing behind his desk. Loki was sitting, staring at his hands laced together in his lap. "What have you been doing all this time? Tell me why that girl is still a virgin."

"I told you-"

"I am not going to live forever, son. The kingdom must pass to someone."

I am not your son.

"There is love there; I can see it in your eyes. How have you held out this long? Are you fucking one of your maids? If that is the case, I will-"

"No!" Loki quickly composed himself, "No, I can assure you, I have not been seducing anyone but myself these last ten months. I admit I have grown quite fond of Eisa." He cleared his throat, "And I have started to seek out her company."

"Your duty to the realm is not to have snuggles and long chats by the fire! We have a kingdom to run. The sooner you give me an heir, the better. You are of no use to anyone hidden away. You proved that in the mountains." He came around the desk and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I need you on my council. Asgard needs you."

Loki looked up to the man he once called father. He didn't know whether to feel proud or outraged. If only he had made this gesture five hundred years ago. If only he would have shown him a modicum of this appreciation in the past, his life might look completely different now. Thor might have lived. Loki might have gotten more time with his mother before she passed.

He might not have ever discovered who he truly was.

He shook his head and swallowed a lump in his throat as he blinked back tears. All the daydreaming in the world could never change what he was inside: something other.

A monster.

A beast.

An animal.

A Frost Giant.

No amount of sentiment or flowery words could make him an Asgardian. No matter how much he wished it to be true.

"The price is too high. I will not pay it. I will not risk losing her. She has done nothing to deserve a creature to grow in her belly. She is too good. I won't do it."

Odin let out a frustrated sigh, "In ancient times, before Asgard took control of the Bifrost, it was not uncommon for the beings of the Nine Realms to intermingle. In fact, my great great-grandfather was half Jötun. There is Giant blood in my veins."

"I know the history of your lineage."

"Then you know that your concerns are unwarranted."

"Unwarranted?"