Chapter 20

"WHAAATTTTTTT!!" Laufey was shocked out of his tale as the twin menaces invaded his personal space screaming in unison.

"You said you met Loki!" Tuffnut shouted.

"So where was Loki?!" Ruffnut added with a tilt of her head.

"I'm getting to that!" Laufey exclaimed as he drew back. Astrid and Hiccup yanked the twins back in their seats as Fishlegs and Snotlout merely stared at their outburst. Heather patted Windshear as the hatchling let out a confused yip.

"Who knew they worshipped Loki so badly." Snotlout whispered as Fishlegs nodded. The twins were clinging to the table as they wanted to hear the rest of the story. Fishlegs thought Jerry had done a marvelous job of distracting them when they found out who he really was.

"I was....... Getting to that." Laufey mumbled. "Skuld said it was my best bet to talk to Loki and I did talk to Loki....... Just not in the form that I wanted."

"Well what happened?" Both twins asked eagerly. Laufey coughed before continuing his tale.

----------------Flashback Continued-------------

Laufey grumbled as he closed the door of the tavern, not willing to slam it to draw more attention to himself. It was still raining outside and it might have even intensified.

"Waste of time," He grumbled under his breath as he started trudging back to the Bifrost station. The rain was loud in his ears and that was why he didn't hear the footsteps behind him. Nor feel the knife in his back before it was too late.

"Ah!" Laufey clutched the wound where the knife was still embedded in his lower back and turned to face his assailants. Blood seeped out of it as he narrowed his eyes at three hooded Dwarves. "What do you want?" Laufey asked shakily as he tried to stem the blood flow but since the wound was on his back it was very difficult.

"You dead, you filthy Jothun!" The Dwarf in the middle shouted as he brandished another dagger. "Your kind is a disease!"

Laufey prepared himself for another attack and mentally berated himself for letting his guard down. It was however a certain female voice that stopped everything.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," The female Dark Elf Laufey had seen at the bar said in a commanding voice as she approached.

"Stay out of this elf!" The Dwarf shouted over the rain that was coming down. Laufey blinked and then wobbled. It seemed the bloodloss from the wound was more than he anticipated. He mentally whacked himself as this was no situation to just lay down for a nap as one bled out.

Laufey's breathing was getting more labored as he heard the female Elf say "Unfortunately I can't do that. You have one chance to leave peacefully or I will kill you all." This got a laugh from the Dwarves as they regarded her.

"This slip of a thing?" One of the Dwarves called out as they regarded her dismissively. Meanwhile, Laufey actually stumbled as blood flowed freely down his back and legs, the dagger must have penetrated one of his vital organs. "Well don't say I didn't warn you...." The Dark Elf mumbled as two magic circles materialized in front of her hands.

Laufey's red eyes widened as the raindrops in the entire area started turning to ice and coalesce. It had been millennia but he recognized this particular type of magic signature. 'Jothun Magic' his mind supplied as the coalesced ice crystals turned into icicles. 'How did this Elf know Jothun magic? Not even he or any other Jothun knew Jothun magic.' He pondered this as his vision started to blur. The last thing he saw was the Dwarves taking several steps back as the icicle rain was aimed at them. The blood loss finally caught up with him. No matter how big Laufey was, too much blood lost would spell the end for anyone. As darkness consumed him he heard screams and then a distinctly male voice said "Oh dear, what am I going to do with you?"

When Laufey woke up again he felt the plush mattress and pillow under him. The bed he was in seemed to be for one person and he realized that he was covered with a quilt as well. "Ah, finally he awakens." A voice said from the right causing Laufey to jerk his head in that direction. There on a chair next to a small table sat a man dressed in black and green clothes with silver accents added at the long sleeves. His hair was black and swept behind in a ponytail and Laufey couldn't see how long it actually was.

"Who are you?" Laufey asked, immediately on guard, as he sat up quickly only to wince as he looked down at his bandaged abdomen as the blanket had been yanked off.

"I wouldn't get up that fast if I were you." The man said and closed the book that he'd apparently been reading.

"Who are you?" Laufey repeated as he started to become impatient.

"Let's see, I go by many names, Prince of Asgard, Liesmith, Wordsmith, Silvertongue, Trickster, Pain-in-the-behind, the last one is not important," The man waved it off and then said "The better question is 'who are you and why are you searching for a particular Asgardian?', hmm?" The black-haired man then rested his elbow on the table and leaned his head against it completely unperturbed about the fact that Laufey potentially attack him.

Laufey gaped at the man for a moment and then just sat there staring. "You're him. You're Loki."

"Who else would I be?" Loki smirked and raised a brow. "Now since you know my name now, I would like the same courtesy."

"I am Laufey, King of Jothunheim and your father." Laufey introduced.

Loki snorted and then said "Are you serious? You are actually using that line on me?" Laufey blinked for a moment thinking that Loki might not believe him and said. "I am very serious. I have been meaning to talk to you for a while now."

"No...No...." Loki said. "I was referring to that line being straight out of Midgardian pop culture."

"Pop culture?" Laufey repeated, confused, as he had never heard that word before. The last time he was on Midgard the people were still primitive.

"So why is dear old dad here?" Loki asked as he still sat in the same position and watched Laufey.

"Before I answer that, I want to know what happened to the elf that was there when I was attacked. Do not tell me the dwarves killed her." Laufey asked. She potentially might have saved his life and he owed her one.

"Oh that," Loki barked a laugh before changing into the female Dark Elf right before Laufey's eyes.

"Huh?" Was all Laufey could utter as his red eyes widened comically. "You're.. Uh.... eh..... Well I always wanted a daughter." Was what finally came out of his mouth.

"It is just an illusion," Loki told him as he changed back. "I can't very well go prancing around the Nine Realms looking like me. Now I would like to know why you sought me out."

"Well, we're family. I thought we could reconnect." Laufey answered.

"Eeeh, try again." Was Loki's bored response. "You knew where to find me, so you must have had eyes on me for a while. So why now and not earlier?"

Laufey let out a sigh. "You have two younger brothers you know. I am sure they would love to meet you. As such I want to invite you to the Jothun homeworld myself."

"I've had my fill of brothers for a while." Loki shrugged. "If that is all you had to say..."

"WAIT!" Laufey shouted as he nearly scrambled out of bed to get to Loki. "I'll tell you my real reason."

Loki now stood facing his father on the bed and looked as if he was waiting for the real reason. "While it is true that I would like for you to meet your brothers, I also wanted to let you know that you are still the Crown Prince of Jothunheim and I want you to take your rightful place on the throne."

"You are offering me a Realm?!" This time Loki actually looked startled.

"I am getting old and would like to leave Jothunheim in the most capable hands possible. The Jothuns need a strong leader to help guide them towards the future. I know of your achievements Loki. You would make your race proud."

"My race? My race?" Loki now said with an incredulous look. "I've been raised Asgardian. I've been raised with the very beliefs you despise!"

"But you are Jothun!" Laufey argued. "Your knowledge would benefit our people the most."

"Your people...."

"What?" Laufey asked.

"You said our people but the Jothuns are your people." The black-haired man frowned. "It has been only a few years since I discovered the truth and I still can't stand to see my original face in the mirror!"

"But....." Laufey began but was cut off. "No buts. I am sorry you had to make this long journey but I won't be going with you. I've finally found some freedom away from the constantly prying eyes of a Royal court and I am not about to jump into another one."

"Wait Loki!" Laufey said quickly as he saw that the man was about to depart. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I asked that of you. Is there no way we could stay in contact? While I did come here with ulterior motives you are still my son and I wish to get to know you."

Laufey saw Loki bite his lip while looking pensive. "You may...... write." Loki finally said as he looked at the Frost Giant. "Deliver them to the barkeep and he shall forward them to me."

"You do not live in this Realm?" Laufey asked.

"Oh no, I only come here for the drinks." Loki shrugged. "Best Dwarven alcohol in my opinion."

"And the female disguise?" Laufey now asked. "You could easily go as a male right?"

"Females tend to get free drinks," Loki smirked. "I am first and foremost a trickster." With that said Loki gave a short nod before using his magic to disappear.

Before Laufey left he had another talk with the barkeep. The Dwarf grumbled and was still reluctant with information but he did mention that Loki frequented this place irregularly but had a room reserved upstairs. The same room Laufey had come out of. The Dwarf seemed awfully protective of Loki, at least from what Laufey observed and he idly wondered as he left the tavern what their story was.

When Laufey returned to Jothunheim he was still amazed that he had actually found his first-born and had a conversation with him, even if he hadn't managed to convince him to return to Jothunheim. When the King neared the throne room a guard informed him that he had two visitors. Laufey frowned as there weren't many visitors what frequented here. When he finally saw who it was that was waiting for him he let out a groan.

"Ve and Vili," Laufey grumbled. "Tell me, what would the younger brothers of the All Powerful Odin be doing here."

"Laufey........" Ve began. "What if we said we had a way to restore the Jothun race to their rightful place of power."

Laufey lifted a brow and then looked at the brothers with narrowed eyes. "You have 30 seconds to explain before I have you thrown out of a window on one of the higher floors."

-----------End Flashback-------------