Endlessly

Resurrection

Laufey must've taken your stupefied silence as some sort of answer to her question, as she has since gathered up both yours and Loki's plates and drifted over to a small buffet in the left edge of the room.

You and Loki look to each other, both expecting the other to provide some sort of explanation to the Jotun queen's behavior. He gives you a playful little shrug, seeming to have actually begun to relax into this strange, chaotic environment.

You open your mouth to speak, but before you can do so, the queen has returned to your sides, two heavy plates of steaming food in her hands.

You barely get out a startled "thank you" before she's grabbed up her own plate and departed to the end of the room again. Serving herself second.

"Alright." She proclaims, settling down in her seat, her arm brushing Loki as she sits. "I am a firm believer of business before pleasure- let's get the discussion regarding The Casket out of the way."

Loki laughs- at least it started as a laugh, before morphing into something much closer resembling a hiss. "Ah- yes. Let us first discuss how you will use me as a pawn, again before the slightest acknowledgment as to why I shouldn't kill you where you sit."

Laufey smirks- once again seemingly unaffected by Loki's threats. "What would you prefer to discuss, my son?"

Loki's reaction to her familial term sends a chill through the air. "Don't."

"Of course." She sighs. "It hasn't taken me much time at all to understand that the Allfather has been lying to you." She takes a slow, contemplative breath. "And that's okay."

When neither Loki nor you interject, she continues to speak. "I will not sit here and pretend the Jotuns are nothing but innocent victims in a needless battle." She plucks a piece of meat from her plate with her thumb and index finger, delicately tearing the meat from the bone with her teeth. "Thousands of years ago, the Aesir and Jotun races coexisted in perfect harmony. Well, seemingly perfect harmony." She places the bone- sparkling clean and from an animal you do not recognize down onto her plate. "You understand Odin to be the most powerful sorcerer in the realm, yes?"

"Yes." You reply without thought, suddenly more desperate for information than a plant is for water after suffering weeks of drought.

A smile tugs at her lips. "Would you believe me if I told you that while that may currently be true, it is only because at the first sign of magical prowess greater than his, he snuffs it out, hoping that the mere possibility of it will never be noticed by anyone again?

With the tone of an annoyed teenager, Loki interjects. "Father isn't even adept at magic; Mother and I are far more-"

"Precisely." The Jotun queen tips her head toward Loki, as if she's waiting for him to catch the punchline of a joke.

"You're not making any sense. Mother and I have not been cast out-"

"Have you not?" She challenges his words. "When was the last time you saw your mother perform magic beyond the walls of the palace?"

"Mother has little need to leave the palace-"

"And where do you find yourself currently? Where were you before you ended up here? Do you believe you'd be welcomed back home with open arms? By the Allfather?"

"I was imprisoned because I killed my fath- because I killed a frost giant."

"Has anyone else on Asgard been imprisoned for that before?"

Loki turns her words over in his mind for several moments, green eyes turning black. "What is it you wish me to do with this information?"

"What is it you wish to do with this information?" For the first time, Laufey's smooth, slightly condescending tone leaves her voice and is replaced with hopeful unease.

Loki remains silent for several moments, mindlessly reaching under the table to rest a hand on your thigh. You instinctually wrap your fingers through his, giving him a little squeeze.

"Your Highness, what exactly is it you plan to do if Loki were to return The Casket to you?" The queen shifts her gaze away from her son, appearing startled, not by your words, but by the fact that you spoke at all.

"Please, my dear. I insist that you call me by my first name." She sits back in her chair, her eyes darting back to Loki briefly before returning to you. "He wouldn't be returning The Casket to me, he would be returning it to Jotunheim, its proper home."

After waiting a few short moments for her to continue, you rather boldly, speak again. "Pardon my forwardness, but you have not answered my question."

Loki's grip on your hand tightens as he fights back a smirk.

Her nostrils flare with her next breath before she continues. "As I mentioned earlier, my people are not merely innocent victims in all of this, and I will not pretend that the vast majority of Jotun's don't have their minds set on revenge. I, however, am significantly more interested in a mutually beneficial alliance. One that could possibly bring my son back to me."

"What is it you believe Jotunheim has to offer to Asgard?" Loki cuts in, clearly intending to shake off any potential sentimentality.

"Presently? Not much beyond knowledge, a few spells and recipes. It's what we can provide once we are in possession of The Casket once again that would be invaluable not only to Asgard, but to the entirety of the nine."

"Well, I certainly must commend you for admitting you've got absolutely nothing to bargain with." Loki laughs, mindlessly plucking something from his plate and popping it into his mouth.

"You." Laufey's eyes lock with yours. "You are no giantess, but the baby that's growing at a rate far quicker than your body can manage is." She points a long, chilly finger at your stomach, before averting her gaze to Loki. "I presume that is the reason my son risked the life of the mother of his child by bringing her here. He knows that you will need our healers- our magic to survive." She narrows her eyes at her son before looking back at you.

"Beyond the possibility of aiding in my very personal and entirely unique situation, what else is it your people can offer to the other realms?" You sit up a bit straighter, feeling inexplicably bold. "Loki and I already have access to the magic and Vernonia's necessary to keep me and our baby healthy for the duration of my pregnancy." You have no idea if what you've just said is true, but you've decided it's in your best interest to appear as though you and Loki have the upper hand.

The shock in the queen's eyes at the mention of the flowers is only visible for the briefest of moments, before she smooths her expression, almost appearing as calm as she had before.

Just then, the sound of a rodent's tiny claws scurrying across the wooden floorboard distracts everyone's attention from the conversation. Without so much as looking down, Laufey raises a large foot, stomping the life out of the poor creature. She reaches to the ground, eyes never leaving yours when she lifts its small, lifeless body from the ground and places it onto the table.

Your stomach churns at the state of it, eyes frozen wide open, blood dripping from its slightly parted mouth.

She hunches over the table, holding both hands over the poor dead thing, her seidr- an eerily similar shade of green to Loki's- flowing from her palms.

When she removes her hands, the mouse returns to its feet, briefly taking in its surroundings before scurrying down the leg of the table and disappearing through a crack in the floorboards.

She tips back in her chair, arms rested leisurely across her stomach, a cocky smirk creeping its way across her face. "Believe me, Jotunheim has plenty to offer to the realms."