Trickster of Ice

Ice Shards Breaking The Skin

(Narrator POV)
The next day, they placed the Casket of Ancient Winters back in its rightful home. They had made a new core for the planet that resided under the castle so it was harder to steal, and Loki already promised to make some extra wards for it.

Loki supposed that maybe he shouldn't trust them enough to give it back to them, but if they turn out evil then they'll go to war with Asgard, and he can fight with them or just run off to Alfheim like the original plan.

He tried to convince one of his family members to put it back, but they all insisted that the honor should be his because he was the one who returned the Casket.

So he inserted it into the cubby and it locked with a rush of cold wind. Immediately, the castle walls began to brighten and the world shuttered.

Frost patterns started forming on the wall as he stepped back, and his breath caught at the sight of the art slowly forming.

"It's beautiful." He said in awe of it all. It was a gorgeous piece of art that was quickly growing in size across the wall.

"It's you." Farbauti replied quietly, and he didn't notice until she mentioned it, but the frost had moved to form a picture of him.

It was of everyone actually. It showed Laufey with his arms around them all with Farbauti closest and Helblindi closest on his other side. Under his right hand is Loki's shoulder as he stands beside Farbauti, and under his left is Byleistr. A family portrait in frost above the heart of Jotunheim.

"It's all of us." He whispered back and suddenly felt a hand land on his shoulder and an arm slide around his waist.

They were now copying the picture perfectly and Loki felt a bitter, but warm feeling rise in his chest.

(Short time skip)
Loki got to pick a new outfit next, because apparently staying blue made the freezing temperatures seem perfect for him, and his normal armor was a little suffocating.

He took in their suggestions and then tried on (changing in a different room, mind you) different things that were either there, something he brought with him, or an item he magicked up on command. Finally, they made their votes, and he decided what he liked best about each outfit.

In the end, the main outfit he decided on was his normal black boots with black leather pants (loincloths were not for him). The pants have a piece of navy blue leather added which crossed over half of his waist like half of an angled skirt.

He kept to no shirt with some of his markings painted black. He accessorized with silver chain bracelets, and necklaces. Over his shoulders, he had a long black fur cloak with silver chains. He also traded in his helmet for a set of silver headband-style horns (a/n like Ragnarok) with blue gems and slightly smaller horns than the helmet.

Loki also liked the horns because both brothers and Farbauti had some small horns of their own.

Next, was when they ambushed him and asked him to stay again.

"I don't want to intrude, and I'm not even sure what my place here would be." Was his calm response as they watched him fiddle with some of the chains.

"We were actually talking about that last night after we showed you to your temporary room." Helblindi informed him.

"I do not require any position." Loki replied back evenly. "What do you mean temporary?" He inquired next, momentarily distracted.

"We're giving you a room in the royal family wing of the castle." Farbauti told him and continued on before he could object. "As for the positions, you're allowed to say no, but we want you to have them."

"As long as the position isn't as King then I see no harm in offering." Loki finally conceded, and decided not to bring up the room again.

Not like they could make him sleep in it.

"No, the crown is promised to Helblindi." Laufey answered back with a flicker of a smile.

"Good. I had figured as much, but I wanted to be sure because I don't want to steal anything from any of you." Loki responded without really thinking much about the words he was saying (which was rare).

There was a pause after that that lasted a few seconds before Loki realized what he had just said. Before he could backtrack in any way, Byleistr answered.

"That's very kind to be worried about him." There was a hint of teasing in his tone, but otherwise he sounded genuine.

There was another long pause before he decided that he needed to change the subject to something else.He really wanted to avoid possibly having to admit that he was already gaining some level of affection toward his biological family members.

Sometimes he found himself missing Thor and Frigga. Fandral even entered his thoughts on occasion. Odin was not missed and Loki sensed that he never would be.

He had mixed feelings about Thor, because he had done terrible things to Loki, but a part of him would always love the brute like a brother.

Frigga, on the other hand, was someone that Loki always missed and always would. She would always be his mom despite her betrayal for Odin.

Loki had to shake his head to get back on track, but before he could move to actually change the subject, Farbauti spoke up.

"We were thinking that maybe we could give you a bit of a welcome home. Would you like that?" She asked him sweetly.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea." He replied instantly and without pause because he truly wasn't sure that would go well.

"Why not?" Laufey questioned calmly and with a slight head tilt which looked odd on someone as scary looking as the King.

"If they find out I'm from Asgard they may see me as an enemy or they may think I'm trying to gain something from you." Loki pointed out.

The Queen stood and stepped in front of him to smooth out the fur cloak around his shoulders with care.

"We want to share you with our family's world, my son. You are our son just as much as your brothers are, and if you decide to stay then this realm will be yours as well. These are our people and they will love you. They will not see you as an enemy." She told him quietly.

There was once again a small pause (those seemed to happen a lot in this stilted conversation) which he used to scan the rest of his new family.

"If you are really so worried, keep in mind that we'd also announce that you returned the Casket which would immediately get you points." Helblindi supplied helpfully.

"True. I'd also put in a good word for you." Byleistr added onto his brother's comment.

Loki took a moment to think about it, and he supposed that they were mostly right. If anything went seriously wrong he could always go to Alfheim and just visit his bio family often.

So, he nodded his head to all of them and gave a small smile in return to theirs.

Hopefully nothing went wrong.

A/N I have mixed feelings again because I'm not crazy about this chapter, but it's mainly to fill space and give you the details without sounding like I'm rushing the story too much.

*Sigh*

I was also planning on making Loki the King at first, but I think he would rather be appreciated for his talents as a Mage and Advisor than he would want to be King. A lot of the time, I feel like he wanted to be King to keep Odin and Thor from being King, and also to prove that he could be even though nobody had faith in him except Frigga. It also may have just been for fun or revenge (that's what I believe the whole 'pretending-to-be-Odin' thing was about).

Anyways! Hope you enjoyed and keep reading!