Adopted

1. Nothing is Real

You sit in your room, the room you've spent most of your life in, and wait quietly, until you hear a knock on your door. The person knocking doesn't wait for an answer and immediately comes into your room. It's Frigga, the woman who has taken care of you ever since your parents have passed away.
"How are you, Nanna ?" Frigga asks. She walks towards you and sits down next to you on your bed.
"I'm alright", you reply with a soft smile.
"I know this is hard for you, but I'm glad you've decided to come and support Thor on his big day today. You're his little sister, I'm sure he loved seeing you support him as he became our king."
"He's not our king yet though. The ceremony had stopped because of the Jotuns who broke into the weapon's vault."
You look away from Frigga, and your smile has disappeared.
"That's why I sent you back to your room. I wanted you to be safe, Nanna."
"But what happened ? Where are they now ? It's almost evening and the ceremony took place this morning."
As you wait for an answer, you start to play with your fingers unnoticeably, yet when Frigga takes a longer time to answer, you look back at her again.
"They're gone. There's nothing to be scared of anymore. We're safe", Frigga finally says. A warm smile appears on your face again as you look away from her.
"Where's Thor ? I'm sure he's feeling pretty bad after what happened today. He was supposed to become our king, until the Jotuns came."
Frigga swallows and turns to you again.
"That's why I'm here", Frigga says. A worried look appears on your face.
"What happened ?" You immediately ask once you make eye contact with her.
"Well - you know Thor. He saw this as an act of war. He wanted to let the Jotuns pay for what they had done."
You shake your head, not ever losing eye contact with her.
"Please tell me he didn't-"
"He did. He went to Jotunheim, together with his friends, and with your brother, Loki. They've fought against the Frost Giants, until Odin came and took them back to Asgard again.", Frigga explains.
"So they're all safe ?"
She nods hesitatingly.
"I hope so."
"Why hope ? They're all back, aren't they ?"
Frigga presses her lips against each other, but eventually answers your question.
"All of Thor's powers are taken from him. He has been banished."
The room gets extremely quiet all of the sudden. You look at Frigga, to make sure she isn't joking, but her face remains serious.
"Where is he now ? Will his banishment ever be lifted ?"
Frigga remains silent. Not only because she doesn't know the answer, but also because the truth hurts her.
You stand up from the side of your bed and leave your room, with the hope to find Loki. You walk, almost run through the halls and towards Loki's room, yet when you're about to knock on his bedroom door, you see him walking down the stairs.
"Loki, wait !" You yell as you run towards him. Loki stops walking for only a second to take a look at you. When he starts walking again, you start to follow him.
"Hello, little sister", Loki says, not giving you another glare.
"Where is Thor ? Please tell me you know where he is."
"As you know he was about to become our king today, but-"
"Loki, I know that. I was there. Tell me where he is now."
Loki continues walking, until eventually, you two are in the weapon's vault.
"Why are we here ?" You ask. You slow down your pace and look around the vault. Loki on the other hand rushes towards the blue casket that once belonged to the Frost Giants, but that was taken from them by Odin, many years ago.
"They were here to steal that, weren't they ?"
Loki ignores you, and picks up the casket.
"Loki, don't", you say, walking towards him, until you two hear a familiar loud voice echoing through the room.
"Am I cursed ?" Loki asks. Your eyes switch between Loki, who is now carefully putting down the casket, and Odin, who is standing on top of the stairs on the other side of the room.
"No", Odin replies softly.
"Then what am I ?"
"You are my son."
Loki carefully turns around and looks at you before he turns to Odin. His skin is icy blue and his eyes are fiery red. You throw your hand over your mouth as you see Loki.
"What more than that ?" Loki asks, walking towards Odin. You aren't able to move an inch and you can't look away from Loki. His skin slowly changes into its own color again and his eyes turn back to normal.
"The casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it ?"
Loki continues to walk towards Odin until he's at the bottom of the stairs.
"No", Odin says simply. You also start to walk towards Loki and Odin now.
"Loki .." you whisper softly, trying to calm him down. You know Loki. You know he's going to try and get the answers he needs, it doesn't matter how he'll get those answers.
"In the aftermath of the battle I went into the temple and I found a baby", Odin starts again. Your eyes are now fixed on Odin.
"Small, for a giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."
You look back at Loki. You see that anger is filling his body, but sadness too. His eyes have filled with tears, yet his sight is still clear.
"Laufey's son ?"
"Yes."
"Why ? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me ?" Loki asks, slightly raising his voice. You notice that he's getting angrier and sadder by the second.
"You were an innocent child", Odin says.
"No. You took me for a purpose. What was it ?"
"Loki, please, calm down-"
"Tell me !" Loki screams. He ignores you, and his eyes are fixed on Odin.
"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance. Bring about permanent peace. Through you", Odin explains just as Loki asked. As soon as the words have left Odin's mouth, you look at him again. You've slowly placed your hand over your mouth again, not knowing if you can believe Odin. But his face remains serious and calm. He is telling the truth.
"What ?" Loki asks quietly, also not wanting to believe his ears.
"But those plans no longer matter."
You remove your hand from your face and walk up to Loki.
"So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here, until you might have use of me ?"
You carefully place your hand on your brother's shoulder.
"Loki, that is not what Odin said-"
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning, why didn't you ?"
The raise of Loki's voice makes you jump slightly and you take a step back, removing your hand from his shoulder, but not being able to look away from him.
"You're my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth", Odin replies.
"What ? Because I - I am the monster parents tell their children about at night ?"
You look at Loki, with tears in your eyes. You hate seeing your brother this hurt, this sad, and this angry all at once.
"You know, it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years !" Loki says, walking up the stairs and coming closer to Odin, yet when you look at Odin, you see that he's starting to feel unwell.
"Loki.."
"Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard !"
You run towards Odin as he has fallen onto the stairs, his eye closed. You kneel down beside him, before calling the guards, who immediately come into the vault and take Odin away.

You slowly stand up and turn around to look at Loki. You notice that he doesn't look back at you.
"I don't know what happened when you all went to Jotunheim today, but-"
"You know what happened, Nanna ! I am a Frost Giant. I've been lied to all my life !"
You come closer to him, even though his raised voice scares you slightly. You make him look you into your eyes.
"Odin loves you. He's right. He wanted to protect you from the truth."
"Love ? What do you know about love ? Your father abandoned you when your mother died. If that isn't real love.." Loki sarcastically says with an angry tone of voice before he shoves past you and leaves you speechless in the vault. Your eyes fill with tears again once you're alone in the room. You slowly sit down on the stairs, and you stare at the blue casket that's across the room. Soft tears run down your cheeks, but you don't want to cry. Yet you know Loki is right, in a way.