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"I swear it is true!" Thor insisted.
"I do not believe you."
Frigga was walking past her children's chambers when she heard the two of them discussing. Seeing the door was a bit open, she stopped to observe them, curious and quite fond of seeing them together.
They were seated on the ground itself, facing each other, and surrounded by toys and dolls. Though they did not seem to play with them actually, even if Loki had one in hands.
"I swear," Thor reapeated, "I was imagining myself as a sorcerer this morning, when some incredible lightings suddenly appeared in my hands!"
Loki rolled his eyes. Now he was playing on dressing a Valkyrie doll with her armor, and was concentrated on it.
"It is not that impressive. Maybe it is magic like mother's."
"No, it was even more amazing! And it was warm and I felt powerful. I tried to do it again but I failed."
"It is because you are too stupid."
"I succeed to do that because I am the god of thunder! Father and mother told it to me. That's why I can create lightings. Maybe when I grow up I could create giant thunderstorms just by thinking of it!"
Loki just winced. Frigga could smell his jealousy from miles away. She smiled, a bit amused by their interaction.
"Don't you think it is a cool power?" Thor said with excitement.
"I don't care! I can do better. I can change my apparence and froze things", he said in an haughty way. "Look."
In a second he was now blue-skinned and glowing-red-eyed, and by a simple touch, made an ice sculpture out of a wooden doll that was near.
Frigga opened wide her eyes as seeing this. That couldn't be. For how long has Loki been aware of this? And what would even be her oldest son's reaction? He could be scared. She was about to enter and find a terrible excuse for his transformation, but her reasonability told her to wait.
"Wow, that's so cool too!" Thor exclaimed.
Frigga admitted it was not was she expected.
"How did you do that? And on purpose! You're so strong!"
"Thank you," Loki smiled proudly. "I discovered I could turn this way and ice things when I touched iced water last time. It was strange, and when I tried it again it was so easy, I just had to think of it. It is like I always knew how to do it but never did, or then I can't remember," he said while shrugging his shoulders.
How could Frigga explain to him it was the first spell he ever casted?
"That's really impressive! I wish I could change the color of my skin too. And your eyes are red, just like blood! That can inspires fear to your ennemies!" Thor assured not with fright but with admiration.
She bit her lip. She never suspected Loki would ever discover his true form, and surely not this early. Should she do something about it? What if her sons discover the truth? And what if their father passes by and see their younger child this way? He will surely not be pleased.
She stayed as she was, wondering what was the best to do. As she didn't know, nor did their sons seemed to be in danger, she decided to stay still, at least for now.
Thor seemed to think for a brief while. "Maybe you are the god of ice."
"But it is too lame!"
"No, you can do a lot of things! Like throwing snowballs at your enemies, or make them slip on the ice!"
"That's even more rubbish. I would prefer to throw stalactites and make the ice crackle under them."
"See, you have ideas! But would that really be useful against the Jotuns? They're our biggest enemy and ice is like their speciality. They could be immune to your power."
Frigga raised an eyebrow. Did her sons really not get it? Apart from the surprise, she was tenderised by their naivety.
Loki frowned, not pleased by his brother's theory.
"Then I'll learn to be stronger than them. If father defeated them, then I can do it too."
For some reason, it hurt Frigga's heart a bit of hearing this.
"We'll defeat them together! You with your throwing stalactites, and I with my extraordinary lightings!"
"Why not," Loki admitted, more interested in the doll he had in hand that at what his brother was saying - or rather yelling.
"Maybe if I try just think about it I could make lighting again."
"Ugh. Far away then, I don't want you to electrocute me."
Thor obeyed, and stood up and made a few steps behind, just to seat again on his knees. He still was facing Loki, who was now styling his doll's hair, and Frigga feared the worst. And she had reason to.
A sudden lighting covered the room and blinded her for a second. Her heart began to race and she was ready to run to her sons before seeing it was all was fine. Thor even had a bright smile on his face.
"Loki !! Did you see what I—"
"You hurt my Valkyrie!!" He exclaimed in shock and in frustration.
Thor look at the doll that was now laying on the ground, its hair like a mess and as burnt as the say ground it was on.
"You killed her!"
"I didn't do it on purpose...!"
Loki frowned and gritted his teeth. In a momentum of anger, he threw coldness on the tiny Vikings ships laying not far from the window, covering them in solid ice.
"My drakkars!!"
"Now they are stucked in Niflheim's iced seas," Loki spitted out.
Thor stood up and ran to them, trying to take them out of the ice. But it was useless.
"You'll pay for it!" He yelled towards his brother.
For a moment Frigga feared he might lose control of the power he had used a moment ago a re-use it clumsily. Again she almost join them but stopped her step as she saw Thor stand up and cross his arms. Did he, for once, not jump into a fight with his brother? Or not yet?
"I demand reparation for the damages!"
"In your dreams! You attacked first! You killed an innocent Valkyrie. It is a high crime. I only stucked a few mortal ships in ice!"
"But they were mine!"
"Because of your offence, Valkyries won't let you enter Valhalla at your death," Loki assured while crossing his arms in turn, in a more haughty way.
Thor's face became white. Their mother found their interaction even more interesting.
"Y... You're lying!"
"Of course not! What are you thinking? You hurt a Valkyrie. All of them are angry at you now."
"What can I do to apologize myself?"
Frigga wondered if her eldest son was playing the game of if he was really genuine in his reactions.
"Hm... I don't know. Maybe take care of others Valkyries."
"I'll do it if it permits me to enter Valhalla!"
He then joined Loki and sat by him, taking the doll - an other one - he handed him. Loki also had another one in his hand. In fact they were plenty others dolls on the ground and in a box behind them.
"What do I have to do?" He asked.
"You can dress her in a pretty outfit. She'll like it."
Thor looked at the doll with a raised eyebrow. It had short green hair and a dark skin with freckles.
"Why does she has green hair? I never saw anyone with some."
"Because I like green! I asked mother's friend to sew her green hair and she even told me with a smile that I had a lot of imagination."
"Then you should be green, not blue."
Loki looked at his arm. He was still in his Jotun form - that he didn't knew of. "I don't think I can choose. Ice is blue so if I really am the god of ice, it is as it is."
"Or maybe you're the god of winter!"
"But father and mother would have told me. Why did they tell you what you're the god of and not me?"
"Maybe they will tell you when you're my age."
"Stop talking like you are a lot older than me."
Thor laughed as he looked up tiny outfits in a wooden box near them. His smile went wider when he saw a clothing he found perfect.
"I'll put this beautiful red gown on her! It even has flowers on it."
"Valkyries don't wear dresses," Loki winced. "It is uncomfortable for fighting."
"It is because this Valkyrie is invited to a ball. Plus mother can fight really good in a dress so she can too if needed."
The warmth in Frigga's heart grew as she heard the compliment.
"And who is his or her companion?"
"It is your Valkyrie," Thor smiled.
"She doesn't want to go the the ball."
Loki was also choosing an outfit for his. He finally picked an armor, made in cloth but meaning to be in gold metal. It had the color.
"But she has to if she wants to honour the Allfather. Because it is he who sent the invitations to all Valkyries."
"Doesn't the Allfather has better to do?" Loki asked as he was now searching for shoes. "Like ruling on the nine realms he once gloriously conquered and having time with his sons?"
"Yes, but he wants to thank them for their glorious work. And the Allmother will be there too, and she wants our two Valkyries to dance together."
"And why is that?"
"Because she is the goddess of love of course! And my Valkyrie is in love with yours, because she saved her life once. So the Allmother wants to make a beautiful couple of them."
"But what if my Valkyrie isn't in love with yours, and just saved her life because she had pity?"
"Then she will be very sad. And surely considering how she put a beautiful gown for her."
Thor then put his doll ahead of him with a smile. Loki sighed, and did the same.
"Okay. My Valkyrie will accompany yours."
"She wants a kiss!"
"Now? The ball didn't even began!"
"It is to give her encouragement."
"You need encouragement to fight, not to dance."
"Well my Valkyrie is so brave she doesn't need some to fight, but she is shy."
"Fine," Loki growled, and then he made the doll make a peck on the other's cheek. "Where does the ball takes place?"
"In the grand hall of the palace of course," and Thor then stood up, and after looking around, choose to approach the toy palace in the corner of the room. It was so tall it almost had his height, and its decorations were so precise it could be mistaken for a grand model of the real one.
He sat next to it, and his brother joined him. Now Frigga saw them less well than before, as they were farther in a corner and back to her. But it was still better than anything. Though spying on her sons playing was maybe a bit intrusive, she admitted it was more interesting, amusing and touching than she thought.
"Let the ball begin!" Thor exclaimed as he put the doll in the middle of the said grand hall. "And after we danced, we shall participate in a great banquet and drink mead until we lay full and asleep!"
"Well your Valkyrie might be a brute, but mine is very elegant like the Allmother, and she will contain herself."
"Mother is not that innocent. It is what she wants us to believe but I know it's not true. I heard Heimdall say to father that once, at a feast with her family in Vanaheim, she was so drunk she climbed on the table and dance and sang to everyone out-loud. And father wasn't even surprised, he was even laughing, so it may not be the first time."
Frigga reddened of embarrassement. She should really be careful next time she visits her family. She often forgot that Heimdall could see almost everything if he wanted to. Not really great of him reporting it to her husband though.
"Well I am sure that even drunk she's still elegant. And so is my Valkyrie."
"Are they still angry at me? The Valkyries."
Loki hesitated before answering. "Hm... I don't think so. You are lucky."
"Then I am relieved!"
"My dear, could I know what is it that has caught your interest as such?"
Frigga got startled has she saw her husband join her. She was so absorbed in her observation she didn't hear him coming.
"Only our sons, husband. They are playing and believe me or not, I found it quite delightful to watch."
"I didn't know my wife was such a curious woman," he smiled, his hands behind his back.
"It is their imagination that is tendering, but it is not the only interesting part. No, they also used their powers."
Odin raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"
"It is true. Children hide so much from us, or maybe we didn't pay them enough attention. Thor succeed to use lightings as I never knew he could, and Loki..."
She didn't manage to finish her sentence. Odin didn't wait for it.
Frigga saw with surprise his youngest son return to his Æsir form as soon as his father pushed the door. He didn't even seem to have done it on purpose.
"Father!" Thor exclaimed. "Do you have come to play with us? It is so rare!"
Odin looked down at them with a peaceful gaze. He still had his hands behind his back.
"I would gladly, but I fear such games have been over my age for a long time. What were you playing at?"
"We were playing with our Valkyries," Loki responded. "There were at a banquet when you entered the room."
"And look at the fancy armour of Loki's one and the pretty gown mine has!" Thor showed him.
"And they love each other," Loki added. "But it was Thor's idea. If I could have choose, my Valkyrie would have been in love with a prince or a princess. It would have been a better marriage."
"Such imagination," smiled their father as he calmly settled down on an armchair. "A contrary to what is commonly thought, it is often needed in times of reflexion."
Frigga had followed her husband and stood behind him. She wondered if he was going to evoke the subject of their powers. She understood why he was trying to be subtile.
"Do you want to play with us, mother?" Loki asked her.
"It is very kind of you to propose it," she smiled. "But this time I will let you play with your brother only. As you related it to us, you two seemed to have quite some fun together."
"All right."
"My sons, come here," Odin finally said as opening his arms.
The two boys obeyed and stood up, and let their father guide them to seat on his lap, each one at one side. They both looked at him with curiosity, waiting for him to make a serious announcement.
"Are you going to tell us a story?" Asked Thor who was finally thinking less seriously than Loki.
"Not this time, no. In fact I have a question to ask you of a serious matter."
The two boys answered nothing, waiting for the said-question while staring at him.
"Do you, by chance, have witnessed your own powers in some ways?" He asked with a soft tone.
Thor was the first to answer before Loki could even open his mouth.
"I did, and we discovered that Loki might be the god of ice!" He exclaimed happily.
Odin was no man to smile at such words. He had already caught the strangeness of the coincidence.
"And why are you claiming that supposition, my son?" he asked with a gentle expression that hid his suspicious thoughts.
"He showed me how he could become blue like ice, and he even threw some!"
Thor pointed with his finger the frozen drakkars on the ground. Odin looked at them with a straight face, through inwardly he became alarmed. There was absolutely no doubt now.
Loki was still silent, and it was hard to read his thoughts, even for Frigga. He did not seem afraid, or embarrassed, any of that really. In fact he seemed a little lost and curious, as if he didn't really understood what was happening to him and was expecting a explanation.
"My son, your brother is not the god of ice or anything of this sort," Odin said while trying a smile and looking at Thor, and then he looked at Loki who seemed to be waiting for a longer answer. "What he showed you must have been only a simple trick. I had not yet told you, Loki, but you have been able to wield magic since your birth. It comes from your mother. You have simply not yet learn to practice it properly. But your mother should teach you."
"Really...?" He muttered with is eyes wide. A mix of surprise and happiness.
"I want to do magic too!" Thor exclaimed.
"You do not have this gift, but you have one as much as useful and great. And you must learn to control it too," his father added, glancing at the burnt doll on the ground.
"I think I can already control it," Thor smiled. "Look at what I can do!"
He opened his hands, and let little lightings sparkle between his fingers.
This time Odin couldn't hide his surprise. The lightings were little but it already seemed so bright and powerful. If Thor was able to summon it so easily at a so early age, what could become of it when he will grow of age? It will not be easy to control. And he didn't meant it for his son. He had to do something.
"You are indeed very strong. So you have you already learn how to summon thunder on your own?"
"Yes, it was easy in fact! I just had to think about it. Just like Loki did."
It was the same for him. Odin could not bear the use of such vile power. If Loki learned to use his Jotun abilities, not only would it raise suspicion, it will reveal secrets he never intended to be known. He had to stop all of this.
"I am proud of having so powerful and skilled children," he smiled at them. "I am looking forward for you to improve them. Now I will let you continue your games, for I have other businesses to attend."
The two boys got off his lap to let him stand up. When he began to walk towards the door, their both seemed saddened.
"Will you come back to stay with us while we play, father?" Loki asked him.
"Probably not soon, but I may one day. Today I have urgent matters to resolve."
"And if we improve our powers, you will come see us training?" Asked Thor this time.
"Of course," he nodded with a sure smile before going out and closing the door behind him.
Frigga bit her lip. She did not like to see her children troubled.
"My sons, you must accept your father's position is keeping him very busy."
"We understand, mother."
"I am glad. Now go and continue to play. Don't think of all these matters."
They nodded and returned to sit next to the their palace. Their playing resumed as if nothing had interrupted it. She was happy to observe it.
But she couldn't stay here. She had to discuss some things.
She left the room in her turn, and walk through the corridor. She stopped as she saw her husband leaned against one of many of the palace's balconies.
She approached him calmy, her hands one on the other.
"I know what you are thinking about, husband."
He turned to her. "Then you must understand my trouble."
"Indeed I do.”
There was a silence as she joined him and glanced at the gardens. She was about to make a comment on the new flowers that have been planted but Odin spoke before her.
"Since when can Loki return to this form? I never thought he could... I always thought that..."
It wasn't common for the Allfather to find himself speechless.
"I do not know. Luckily for us, he wasn't aware of the true reason, nor was Thor. But we must do something as for it not to happen again."
Frigga looked down as saying it. She disliked to put restraints on others, even more on her own children. But she also thought of the consequences.
"Maybe a spell will do." Odin proposed. "There are none enough powerful to erase his true nature, but there are some to prevent it to appear. One more powerful than the one he casted on himself as a babe. With it he will no more show his nature by accident or by touching a cold object. If he does not touch anything of Jotunn nature, it will do. He will stay Æsir in the eyes of all and for ever."
Frigga still looked down. All of this really bothered her. But what could she do? She had to obey if she didn't want to face the consequences. It was a sacrifice she was willing to do to her family, and to the people. It was not the first and surely not the last one.
It only upseted her more that her son had to sacrifice himself too.
"You are right," she swallowed. "And for Thor?"
There was another silence before he spoke.
"His power is and will be too mighty. It could grow dangerous. It shall be controlled and restrained. Loki's one too. The problem is not only his nature. It is all the magic he bears in him. He shall never link it with his Jotun's abilities. We should find him an interest as he would forget this one. My dearest, you should teach him some of your magic. It could be useful in the future and will let him express his faculties otherwise. As for Thor, I will myself find a solution."
Frigga nodded as he left her, saying no more.
"My dear?" She called him and he turned to her. She came to take his hands into her owns. "You know I trust you. Make the right decision. And know that I will always be there if you need further advices."
He smiled to her and nodded before letting go of her and leaving her.
Frigga sighed. She needed something relaxing, like a bath or a good book. All of this was too worrisome.
After all, her boys still had the time to grow up and play together before acknowledging all of these responsabilities.