Fjolnir hadn't been able to stay still all day. He was too excited about the banquet, and it was finally about to start. He was all dressed up in his nicest clothes and ready to go, but Freyr caught him before he could dash out of the door of their guest quarters. "Whoa there, little man. There's something we need to talk about before we go down to the banquet hall." He led Fjolnir over to sit on the edge of the bed.
Gerd turned away from the mirror and smilingly dismissed the maids who'd helped her with her braids, leaving the family alone in the room. She joined Freyr, and they both looked very serious. It made Fjolnir worry that he'd done something naughty, and he tried to remember what it might be.
"I know you've been looking forward to tonight," said Gerd, smoothing the fabric of Fjolnir's tunic (even though it was already smooth). "But it isn't going to be quite the same as the welcome feast when we arrived. We want you to be ready for what you may see and hear."
"Why?" said Fjolnir, confused. He'd thought he would just play with Leif some more, eat good food, and practice the Asgardian round dances he'd been trying to learn. "What's going to happen?"
"The Allfather is going to explain to Asgard that he adopted Loki from Jotunheim," said Freyr, crouching down so that he was at Fjolnir's eye level. "We don't know how the people are going to react."
"However much you've enjoyed our time here, it's important to understand that Asgard isn't like Alfheim or even Vanaheim," said Gerd. "The Vanir sometimes trade with Jotunheim, and the Ljosalfar have been helping skamrbarn for thousands of years and they're very protective of us, but the Aesir-Jotnar war was barely a generation ago. The people have very strong feelings about Jotunheim still."
Fjolnir frowned. "But Prince Loki grew up here. He's Asgardian even if he isn't Aesir, so why should it matter?"
"It shouldn't," said Freyr. "And if everyone possessed the good sense of a child, then I doubt it would." He ruffled Fjolnir's hair a little. "Alas, many grown men are fools."
"Even if they react poorly to what the Allfather says," said Gerd, "try not to let it upset you. Always remember that hearts can be changed, and that is what the House of Odin wants our family's help with."
"I thought we were here to give Loki his frjosleikr lessons," said Fjolnir.
"We are, but that is only the smaller of our tasks here," she said. "This one is far more important."
Fjolnir wasn't sure he understood that, but he nodded.
X
Laura was going to get a crick in her neck soon from craning around to stare at everything. After the journey across the stars inside a pillar of light and the gentle flight through a golden city to the palace, she and the kids spent about an hour being fitted for fantasy clothing that was made of nicer material than anything she'd ever so much as touched before. Next, she and Lila sat to have their hair braided in ways she would never be able to reproduce at home. She suspected magic was involved. Once the nice servant woman declared Lila's hair done and dress (magenta and gold, no armor pieces) finished, she danced around in her best imitation of some of the ballet forms Natasha had briefly taught her, giggling and telling Cooper smugly that she really was a fairy princess now.
Cooper was slightly less pleased to be wearing a tunic, which seemed too close to a dress for him, but he livened up as soon as Clint told him he looked like a medieval knight. Clint certainly looked like one. The crisscrossing strips of material in his tunic also accentuated his muscles in very appealing ways. She was going to have to figure out how the thing came off.
Natasha joined them about then, also with braided hair and dressed in yards and yards of armor-accented crimson and dark gray fabric. She, like Clint, was in a very excitable mood, which was even rarer for her than it was for him. She couldn't stop grinning, especially when she saw Cooper and Lila, and when Lila asked if her pretty dress would make it harder to fight, Natasha showed off the way her dress flowed around her when she did her acrobatic combat moves, somehow never tripping her up even though it was long enough to trail on the floor. It wasn't the first time Laura was reminded with a pang that her friend had never really had the chance to be a little girl; she had often had the thought when she watched her throw herself into playing with the kids during her visits to the farm.
X
The atmosphere in the grand banquet hall was different than it had been at any other feast Loki could remember. In place of the usual laughter and happy chatter and bustle, there were mutters and whispers as tens of thousands of people took their seats around the tables. A sense of restlessness pervaded the place, quite separate from his own nerves. He could feel countless pairs of eyes on him, and he tried to give no sign that he had noticed.
He couldn't deny, though, that if there was an ideal setting in which to confront the kinds of rumors that had been flying across the realm for the last day and a half, it was probably this one. Any armor and weaponry that wasn't mostly decorative had been left behind, people were dressed in their most comfortable finery, and everyone was looking forward to a lot of good food and fun.
Loki stood with Thor and the mortals, who now included the awestruck wife and children of Agent Barton. Thor had the little girl on his shoulders and was pointing out features of the hall to them.
Loki felt a tugging at his surcoat and looked down. Barton's boy was staring up at him. "Can you really do magic?" he said. "Dad said you could."
"Did he?" said Loki. He conjured a simulacrum, cloaked himself, and peeled off from it, then crept around to stand behind the child.
"Can you show me?" he unwittingly asked the simulacrum.
"What did you have in mind?" said the real Loki as the copy dissolved and he dropped his cloak.
The boy jumped and spun around, a huge grin on his face. "Wow! That's so cool! Can everyone here do that?"
"Very few have the skills or the patience to learn it." He leaned in and held a hand up to block his words from Thor. "All my brother can do is make bad weather."
"I heard that," Thor grumbled.
"Because he's the God of Thunder?" said the boy. "I read that in a library book."
The sound of running feet made them turn. It was Fjolnir. Barton's boy looked slightly relieved at the sight of another child. "Hullo," said Fjolnir. "Thor said there would be more guests coming from Midgard. Is that where you're from?"
"Uh, I'm from Missouri," said the boy. "I'm Cooper." He jerked his thumb up at his sister, then at his mother standing behind him. "That's Lila, and that's our mom."
"I'm Fjolnir. I'm a guest at the palace too."
"Are you an elf?" said Cooper. "You have pointy ears."
"Sort of," said Fjolnir. "Mama's parents are Ljosalfar." A clever way of misleading with the truth, Loki thought. He didn't really wonder where humans had gotten the idea that elves had pointy ears. There were numerous hidden pathways between Alfheim and certain parts of Midgard, and he'd heard of at least one mortal stumbling his way across in the last century or so. Word would've gotten around. "I heard mortals grow up very quickly. Is it true?"
"It doesn't feel very quick," said Cooper, frowning. "It felt like a really long time to turn seven."
Fjolnir gaped at him. "You're seven?!"
"Yeah," said Cooper. "Why, how old are you?"
"Nearly two hundred."
"No way!"
"Yep," said Fjolnir, grinning. "I'm gonna go find my friend Leif," said Fjolnir. "Wanna come?"
"I don't know," said Lady Barton, putting a hand on Cooper's shoulder with an apprehensive glance around the hall. "There are so many people here. I don't want to lose track of you."
"It will be my honor to see your son safely back to you, my lady," said Fjolnir with a bow.
"How gallant," said Lady Barton, smiling.
Fjolnir ducked his head bashfully. "I've learned my way around the palace pretty well, and we'll be able to see you if you're up at the high table."
"Leif is the son of our dear friend," said Thor. "Volstagg and his wife are very good at looking after little ones, seeing as they have eight of their own. Cooper will be perfectly safe."
"Okay," said Lady Barton. "But be careful."
Cooper and Fjolnir got a few steps away from the adults before the half-Vanr boy skidded to a halt and turned back. "I almost forgot!" He ran up to Loki. When he spoke again, it was in a stage whisper. "Mama and Papa told me what the Allfather's going to say, and, well..." His brow creased with some combination of concern and frustration. He bit his lip, then threw his arms around Loki's middle. Loki felt the weight of all the anxiety he was trying not to think about crash into him. He patted Fjolnir on the head. Fjolnir let him go, beamed at him, and dashed off to the second tier of tables with Cooper in tow.
Thor's hand came down heavy and reassuring on the back of Loki's neck. "Fjolnir's right," he said.
"He didn't say anything," said Loki, throat tight.
"He didn't have to." Something caught his notice, and he dropped his hand, grinning. "Look who's here."
Loki turned and temporarily forgot how to breathe. Brunnhilde was approaching them in a Valkyrie's formal banquet attire. The braided hairstyle had more ornamental flair tonight, and the dress consisted of long, billowing white and blue fabric with pale gold armor plating. It wasn't identical to the old style Loki recalled from books; someone had clearly updated the cut of the cloth and the shape of the plates. The seamstresses and armorers must be just itching for the chance to do the same to the full Valkyrie armor, both battle and ceremonial.
He went to meet her before she could quite reach the group. "You look wonderful," he murmured. He wanted to take her hand and hold onto it, but not with the whole realm watching, so he settled for raising it to his lips for a brief kiss and releasing it. It was a common enough polite greeting that it wasn't likely to draw comment.
"Your curls are back," she said.
"It seemed there were other perspectives on the subject that I hadn't considered."
She laughed and looked at his hair like she wanted to run her fingers through it. He would have liked nothing better, but Odin chose that moment to get to his feet, and the hall began to quiet in a wave from the high table outward.
The few people still standing made their way to their seats. Loki took his usual place on his mother's left, and Brunnhilde took the empty seat on his other side. The high table curved at the top of the hall, with the royal family at the center and their guests towards the ends. The House of Freyr, due to their family ties to Frigga, were on Loki's end, as well as the mortal scientists. The four aliens they'd liberated from Maw's control were on Thor's end of the table, but Romanoff, Barton, and Barton's family were in the seats closest to Thor. He could see the brown and blond hair of Cooper Barton and Fjolnir among the gaggle of red and auburn-headed children between Volstagg and Hildegund at the second tier, where also sat the Council members and their families and other important nobles and friends of the royal family, like Sif, Hogun, and Fandral.
Frigga leaned over to Loki and kissed him on the cheek, then gave a warm smile and a nod to Brunnhilde, who nodded back awkwardly.
Odin spread his arms wide, and his voice boomed out over the vast hall. "My family and I welcome you all to Gladsheim this fine evening," he said. "Thank you, Thor, for ensuring it was that."
Thor raised his tankard with a grin, and there was a rumble of laughter. Loki wondered when they were going to get tired of that joke.
"We have much to celebrate," Odin went on. "After overcoming great perils, my sons have returned from an urgent quest beyond the borders of Yggdrasil, where time itself was among their enemies. They triumphed not only because of their strength, skills, and wits, but thanks to the help of Lady Sif and the Warriors Three." He gestured towards them, and they raised their tankards and bowed their heads. "And also the mortals Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, as well as one whom I have long believed lost to Asgard: Commander Brunnhilde Sigursdottir of the Valkyrior."
The volume of the whispers that broke out was so loud that the hall seemed caught in a strong wind, and many benches scraped the floor as people stood, trying to get a better look at Brunnhilde. Her face was very blank, and she stared at a point over the heads of the crowd. Loki's stomach twisted. She needn't have subjected herself to this.
He turned back to face his father. The people of Asgard loved a good story almost as much as they loved a fight, and Odin gave them one. "Unbeknownst to them, their enemies found them the moment they arrived. The alien sorcerer laid a trap for Prince Loki and Commander Brunnhilde. Loki sacrificed his only chance to escape it to ensure that it wasn't fatal when it closed around Brunnhilde. The enemy took them to his ship, an abominable craft where the very seidr in their veins twisted against them."
Many in the crowd made quiet sounds of horror, fully absorbed in the tale despite whatever they'd been expecting to hear tonight. Odin then briefly described Thor's side of the story, which was the first Loki had heard of it. He gave special attention to the feats of Barton and Romanoff, but Loki was going to need to talk to his brother later. Thor, giving a revolutionary speech in the nameless tongue and driving a wedge between the two enemy factions? He wouldn't have expected such subtle tactics from him.
"The sorcerer turned the ship's weapons on Thor, who continued to fight on the ground, unaware of the danger." Thor had clearly still been unaware of it, for he stared at Odin. "Loki could not use his seidr and his strength was nearly gone, but he did have the power given him by his birth. The power all Jotnar have over ice."
A good deal of muttering broke out at this. Odin allowed five seconds of it before slamming Gungnir into the floor. The sound reverberated through the hall, disproportionate to the amount of force he had used, and silence fell at once. "He is not well practiced in using it, but he was able to break his bonds, slay the evil sorcerer, and save Thor's life. It may have cost him his own, if not for Brunnhilde defending him against the sorcerer's guards and Eir's excellent healing. The debt we owe them cannot be repaid."
The volume of muttering crept back up. Odin gave it about fifteen seconds this time before he spoke again, his expression far more serious. "This banquet is not how I had planned to reveal my son's blood lineage to my people. If word reaches Jotunheim that he was born of that realm, he may be in grave danger, for Laufey has wanted him dead from the moment he drew his first breath." Any ongoing muttering abruptly cut off at this. "He nearly accomplished that evil goal, but the Norns guided me to the place in Utgard where Loki had been left to die and helped me bring him safe to Gladsheim."
It was a good approach, Loki thought. Odin was not going on the defensive by acknowledging the rumors. Instead, he was honing the general ire towards the Jotnar as a species into something more targeted. Laufey was a child-murdering villain, and thus his victims were to be pitied even if they, too, were Jotnar. The fact that Loki was a Frost Giant was thereby reduced from something scandalous to something tragic, and adopting him became an act of mercy rather than madness. Crediting the Norns for his discovery of the abandoned baby was also brilliant. Relying on his own authority to give Loki legitimacy may have been enough, but only an absolute fool would dare question the Allfather when he invoked the weavers of destiny.
Odin reached for Frigga, who put her hand in his. "Perhaps, in giving us this child, they thought to soothe the pain my queen and I were soon to feel, for the babe she delivered the day our armies returned home did not survive beyond an hour."
Shock and dismay dropped like a weight, every face Loki could see falling. Yes, let them think on that after all the foul theories they'd been bandying about.
"Had our Baldur lived, you would have known Loki as his twin," said Odin. "If only we could have been so fortunate. Instead of plunging our victorious realm into a time of mourning, we endured our grief in private so that all would believe Loki ours by blood. We were happy and proud to claim him as our own, and doing so was the best protection we could give him against Laufey."
He glanced at Loki, and the fond look in his eye raised a lump in Loki's throat. "Jotunheim's loss in discarding a person so brilliant and talented cannot be overstated," he went on, voice lower. "Nor can Asgard's good fortune in gaining him. He is grown now and less in need of a mother and father's protection, but I trust that all who love Asgard and what it represents would still wish to stand with us between him and one who seeks his blood, should the need arise." Odin smiled. "However, he may die of mortification if I sing his praises any longer, so let us turn to other subjects."
Loki raised his tankard to that, his eyes on his plate, and he was surprised when more than just his family, Brunnhilde, and the mortals laughed. It wasn't the entire hall, to be sure, but it was significant.
"As I said before, Thor and Loki's mission on Sakaar could not have succeeded without their mortal friends. As a mark of Asgard's appreciation and as a symbol of the closer ties we hope to build with Midgard, we offer them these gifts." Two Einjerjar approached the high table where Barton and Romanoff sat, each carrying a finely decorated chest. One was long and thin and the other was closer to the size of a jewelry box.
"To Clint Barton, we present a bow and quiver worthy of an archer of his skill." The long, thin chest opened to display a very fine weapon indeed. It closely resembled those used by high ranking officers in the Einherjar, though no mortal would be able to draw back the string of such a bow, so this must have been made specifically with Barton in mind. The quiver would likely interest Barton more than the bow itself, for Loki knew that it was imbued with spellwork to make it function like a dimensional pocket. Barton would be able to store as many arrows in it as he wanted without ever feeling their weight, and only he would be able to retrieve them.
"To Natasha Romanoff, we present an amulet of many faces. May her movements go unnoticed by her enemies as she works for the good of her people and our alliance." The smaller box opened to reveal a delicate woven silver pendant with a ruby at the center. This was even more rare than the bow and quiver, though most Aesir would not appreciate it as much. It was of Ljosalfar make and enchanted to alter the appearance of the owner (and only the owner) according to her wishes. The changes would only be surface-level glamours and there was a limit to how often it could be used in a day to avoid permanently depleting it, but Loki was sure that a mortal spy with no magic of her own would find endless uses for it.
A round of applause followed the presentation of the gifts, and the Einherjar set the chests on the table and withdrew.
"You may be wondering what quest could have taken your princes to a planet as remote as Sakaar—what quest would have led them to work alongside mortals for the first time in centuries," said Odin. "It is a matter Asgard has left unattended for too long. Many among you are old enough to remember the war against the Mad Titan, Thanos."
The silence that accompanied mention of this name was different than what had pervaded the hall before now. It was both fiercer and more unified. Whether they were willing to accept Odin's explanations about Loki or not, whether they agreed that a pair of mortals deserved these honors or not, the people of Asgard knew exactly how to feel about the Mad Titan. It would take very little to persuade them that it was time to assume a more offensive stance towards him.
"Two millennia have done nothing to heal his madness, and his ambition has only grown. He seeks what he has always sought: to destroy half of all life in the universe. There are planets in other galaxies where he has already succeeded." Odin bared his teeth. "Asgard is the obstacle he must not overcome. By going to Sakaar, my sons have deprived him of a new army and two of his most powerful lieutenants. We have won this victory, but if we are to win the battles to come, we will need more allies, both within Yggdrasil's branches and without. My people, we must be ready." His expression and tone became softer, and he spread his arms again. "But tonight, our only task is to celebrate this initial victory. There is good food to be eaten, fine ale to be drunk, and merriment to be had. Get to it!"
Cheers echoed around the hall, feet stomped beneath tables, tankards raised everywhere, and the people gladly obeyed the command of their king.
X
Fjolnir, Leif, and Cooper ate quickly, then slipped away from the table to go play behind the pillars at the edges of the hall. Fjolnir and Leif had to go slower to accommodate Cooper, and Lord Volstagg had warned them very sternly before they left that they were not to roughhouse with him because it would be too easy to do him a serious injury without meaning to. Fjolnir wasn't sure what games that left them, but they would work something out.
"Do you know how to do magic?" said Cooper.
"Yeah," said Fjolnir, grinning. "I'm not very good yet, but I've been studying for a few decades, and Mama helps me practice." He noticed that Leif wasn't standing with them anymore, but peering around a pillar towards the high table. "Oy, Leif!" he said. Leif didn't seem to hear, so Fjolnir and Cooper went to stand next to him.
"What are you looking at?" said Cooper.
"He's always looked just like an Aesir," said Leif.
"Who, Prince Loki?" said Fjolnir. "He's a shapeshifter. Mama says it's one of the rarest talents in Yggdrasil. He's so good at it that he didn't even know he was doing it."
"And he's really a Frost Giant underneath," said Leif.
"What's a Frost Giant?" said Cooper.
"They're big, towering monsters with blood red eyes and skin made of ice," said Leif, holding his arms over his head, curling his fingers like claws, and standing on tiptoe to make himself seem taller. "One touch is all it takes to freeze a full-grown warrior where he stands."
Cooper laughed and dodged a swipe from Leif's hand.
"That's not true," said Fjolnir, folding his arms.
"Of course it is," said Leif. "It's what everyone says." He frowned. "But I suppose you don't hear stories from the war if you live on Vanaheim." He looked at Cooper. "I thought maybe you would have, being from Midgard. They tried to conquer it a thousand years ago, but Asgard stopped them."
"But that's not what Frost Giants are like!" said Fjolnir. He tried to remember what his parents told him about not getting upset, but it was harder than he'd thought it would be. He didn't think Leif would be saying these things. "They're not monsters. They're people. They have families and they play games and sing and dance like everyone else, and they only freeze things they touch when they want to. They don't just go around freezing everything they see."
"How would you know?" Leif scoffed.
Fjolnir hesitated. He could keep arguing, but Leif barely seemed to be listening to what he said. He lifted a hand to the clasp of his pendant, caught it, and held it out. Leif raised his hand, looking confused, and Fjolnir dropped it onto his palm, fingers trembling a little. Heat rushed over his skin and the firelit hall became eye-wateringly bright. Cooper's mouth dropped open and Leif's eyes went round as coins. "I know because I'm half-Jotun," said Fjolnir.
He reached to take his pendant back, confident that he'd made his point, but Leif recoiled, looking horrified. Fjolnir stared. He felt a sharp pain in his chest like Leif's reaction had caused him a physical wound. Leif didn't move, and Fjolnir stumbled back, his eyes filling with tears. He ran around the pillar and back up the hall. He heard cries of surprise around him from people he passed, but he didn't stop until he had reached the high table and was in his father's arms.