Sif sat on the floor where the wind had blown her back. Frost crept towards her in the fading light of the Casket of Ancient Winters, the torches long since guttered and gone out. Her wide eyes were fixed on the small limp body beneath the Casket's pedestal in shock. A burst of adrenaline and dread pushed her across the ice and down beside her friend. When the light hit him and she saw what had happened, she startled backwards in horror, a small cry escaping her lips. Huddled against the wall, Sif was paralyzed with fright. The darkness was growing as the Casket dimmed until there was nothing more than a soft blue glow and a whisper of icy air. She tried to control her fear, but soon there were shapes moving in the shadows and phantom fingers in her hair. tears fell unbidden from her eyes as her six-year-old mind invented monsters in the dark.

The Weapons Vault was foreboding enough when lit, the niches and arches always filled with shades and shadows enough to reach out at the imagination, no matter how brave a child you were. On any other day Sif thought herself up for the challenge, always eager to follow Thor and Loki wherever they went and prove she was just as brave as they. When Loki had suggested today that they explore the vault she had barely hesitated. The Vault was supposed to be forbidden, but Loki knew of secret doors and ways too small for adults to notice in their grown-up blindness, and what kind of fun was there to be had without a little danger?

Now as she pushed herself against the wall with her hands across her crying eyes all thoughts of adventure had vanished, and in their place was a fervent wish for her mother. But a deep and tugging worry slowly pulled her hands from her eyes and her back from the wall. The ice was slick around him, and he was covered in a rime of frost, but more than anything it was Loki himself that scared Sif. All her short life she had heard tales of Jotunheim, and the Frost Giants that lived there. Their blue skin and their red eyes and their animal rage were the fears that kept her awake in the night. But they had just been stories, a distant evil kept at bay by her mother's warm arms and her father's great sword. But Loki, her favorite friend and most beloved companion, even above Thor, lay before her as blue and cold as every monster of her dreams, and she could see slits of red beneath his eyelids.

She sobbed and reached out timidly to touch him, but pulled back at the frigid feel of his skin. He was so cold it almost burned. She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not, and she couldn't bring herself to touch him again, much less to try and understand what was happening. Her young mind raced, trying to fight through her terror and be brave like her father taught her. She understood without really knowing why or how that this was a secret. But she also knew that Loki needed help and healing. She wished for her mother again, and in that moment realized the person she needed most. With every ounce of courage she had left, she stood, and she ran towards their secret door. It was so dark, and she was so scared, but a sense of urgency drove her on in the passageway, rising ever upward towards the palace.

The Norns favored her that day, for there was no one in the chamber when Sif burst out through the passageway, the corner of the tapestry that covered the door flapping in her wake. It was another small blessing that people were so used to seeing her running about the palace halls that no one stopped her to ask what she was doing, though her panicked tear-stained face earned more than one curious glance. She didn't-couldn't- stop until she finally found Queen Frigga in the courtyard, weaving with her ladies. One of them exclaimed, and as Frigga turned Sif threw herself into the queen with a sob and buried her face in her skirts. Frigga's comforting hands on her back felt immediately gentle and warm, but the Queen couldn't completely mask her alarm as she asked,

"Sif, darling, what ails you?"

Sif looked up at her through teary eyes, and something in her face made Frigga send the ladies away with a kind but firm nod. The Queen pulled the child's hands from her skirts and gently squeezed them, asking again,

"Sif, what is wrong?"

Sif looked for her words, the fear clawing in her chest and threatening to choke them, but she swallowed and they bubbled up like a wellspring.

"Lady, you must come with me, it's Loki-"

At that, Sif's fear spread to Frigga's eyes, and the Queens grip tightened on the child's hands.

"Loki?"

"Please, Queen Frigga, he won't wake up, and he's so cold-"

"Where is he, child? Quickly, Take me to him!"

"He's in the vault, please Lady, it's so dark-"

Sif saw the Queen's eyes widen and felt the weight of seidr as she waved her hand and began pulling the child along.

"We are hidden from prying eyes, but we must hurry. Tell me what happened, Sif."

Sif ran to keep up with the queens long strides, her tears all but dry though the fear had settled in the pit of her belly. Her voice shook as she explained:

"Loki wanted to play hide and seek with Thor counting, and he told me he knew somewhere Thor would never look. He took me to a tear in the wall made with magic that the grown-ups don't know about, and we went down into the Vault. There are so many wonderful things down there, Lady, and we were only looking, we never meant to hurt anything. Loki said that he could hear singing, but I couldn't hear anything, he said it was so beautiful, and it was coming from the light in the blue box. I told him not to touch it, Queen Frigga, that we would be in trouble, but he did, and then a great cold wind came up and knocked us down, and Lady, he turned into a fro-"

Frigga stopped abruptly and spun down, putting a finger to Sif's lips. Sif's eyes widened in alarm at the fire in the Queen's eyes as she hissed,

"Hush! Say no more, child. Where is this door you spoke of?"

Sif pointed, too afraid to speak, and Frigga pulled her along with a renewed urgency. Soon, they had ducked behind the tapestry and were rushing down the dark passage. The fear rose up from the pit of her stomach and buried itself in her throat as they neared the bottom and she could see the faint blue light. As they stepped into the Vault, Frigga broke into a run, Sif stumbling to keep up, and when they reached the edge of the ice the Queen dropped Sif's hand and dashed towards her son. Loki was still covered in frost, and Frigga started back with a gasp of pain at the feel of his skin before wrapping her hands in her skirts and pulling the little body onto her lap. She freed one of her hands and began whispering over the boy, her seidr casting a warm glow across his face, though it didn't reach Sif. Sif hung back, too scared to go closer but too worried to run away.

Frigga's brows knitted together in concern, and she reached a hand toward the child.

"Come, Sif, I have need of you. My warmth is not enough to shake this cold in his heart."

Sif wrestled her fear for a moment before a look of resolve crossed her young face and she bravely grasped the queen's hand. Frigga continued to whisper seidr over her son, and though Sif could feel the pull of power it seemed it was doing nothing. However as Frigga chanted, the ice slowly began to recede, and the frost on Loki's flesh began to melt. Warmth crept back into the vault and soon the ice had dissipated into the air, though Loki remained as blue as ever. Sif watched him anxiously for signs of life, and after what seemed like an eternity of stillness, his eyelids fluttered and his chest lifted in a breath. Frigga paused her chanting, and Sif couldn't hold back a gasp when his eyes opened, for they glowed as red as a beating heart. He glanced around, dazed and unfocused, but when he found his mother's face he seemed to come clearer.

"Mama?"

Frigga let out a relieved breath, and Sif was alarmed to see that the Queen's eyes had filled with tears.

"Yes, little one, I'm here."

"mama, where did the singing go? It was so beautiful…It was calling me…"

Frigga's eyes became sad in a way that Sif could not yet understand, and she whispered:

"What was it saying?"

"It was like wind in the wintertime…It was calling me to come home…am I not home, mama?"

Loki's eyes struggled to remain open, and Frigga couldn't answer for the sorrow in her chest. He looked so small and lost in his mothers arms, so afraid through his haze, and Sif felt for him then with all the heart of a child, and for a moment she forgot he was a monster. The Queen's voice, though broken, was resolute when she finally answered:

"You are home, little one."

The little boy smiled, then, and let out a deep breath. Frigga pressed a kiss to his blue forehead, which was slowly fading back to pale Asgardian skin. The Queen smiled briefly at her sleeping child, and then became very serious. She squeezed Sif's hand hard, making sure the girl was giving her full attention.

"You must tell no one, sif, do you understand? Do not even speak of it to Loki."

The girl nodded with the solemnity of a child, her eyes wide.

"Swear to me Sif."

"I swear to you, Queen Frigga."

Frigga searched her eyes for a long minute before apparently finding what she was seeking, and then looked back at her son. Sif watched as the blue melted away, as frost melting from a window, and without realizing, she murmured:

"He's beautiful. I thought monsters were supposed to be ugly, but he's beautiful."

Frigga gave her a sad smile, and squeezed the hand she was still holding.

"Monsters have many faces, child, but so do princes. And our Loki is a prince, don't you think?"

Sif paused, and then nodded, a decision made.

"Yes."

The last vestiges of blue had almost faded, and Loki looked himself again though he seemed paler and smaller than Sif remembered. Frigga let go of Sif's hand and clasped her son close, rising off the floor.

"Come, child. Let us get our prince to bed."

"Please, Lady, can I stay with him tonight?"

Frigga smiled down at her, and reached out her hand. Sif gently grasped it, and they walked back towards the secret passage, the weight of seidr settling around them once more.

"I will send a message to your mother, dear one. I'm sure Loki will be glad to see you when he wakes."

Sif smiled, but it faded into a look of fierce determination. She pondered the events of the day, and then said quietly,

"I don't want him to be cold and alone ever again."

Frigga smiled again, a glint of the same determination in her eye.

"As long as we are here to love him, he won't be."

-0O0-

AN:

This is written for a friend's birthday and I need some feedback before I send it away. Any comments, corrections, or critiques would be greatly appreciated!