Eyia had lived in Asgard nearly a full month now - only eleven more to go… With her father off on business in Midgard, and her mother having died long ago, the alf prince had asked if the Asgardians would look after his daughter during his absence.

Being to good friends her father and King Odin were, the arrangements were settled in a matter of days, and teenage Eyia found herself plopped down in a bedroom in the same hallway that the Asgardian princes' chambers led off of.

The boys were her age, roughly - Thor a little older, Loki a little younger, but all in all they might have been mistaken for siblings were one not to pay mind to Eyia's pale skin and narrow, pointed ears.

Being raised by the same parents along the same principles, Eyia would have thought the boys should have a lot in common - oh, was that wrong.

Thor would sneak out in the night with his 'friends' while the most rebellious thing Loki ever did was stay up past bedtime reading - never leaving the soft comfort of his blankets.

Eyia was no stranger to battle, and often sparred with her friends back in Alfheim, but she found much more peace in the pages of spell books than she did in blades and talk of warfare; this was only one of many things that separated her and Thor.

It was almost something Eyia regretted, pushing Thor away, since Loki never tried to take the place his brother left behind - the younger god kept to his chambers, only leaving for solitary adventures in the nearby woods and for meals, the latter of which he escaped from as soon and as swiftly as he possibly could, leaving Eyia no room to take him up in conversation.

Frigga was as good a foster mother as could be. She was sweet, and kind, and caring, and scolded Thor whenever he made fun of magic a little too loudly - though whether this was for her own or Loki's sake, Eyia could never be sure.

Months came and went, and when the year was almost over King Odin received a message from Eyia's father - he begged they keep his daughter for him yet a few months longer, as an unforeseen conflict had arisen, and needed resolving.

Eyia took the news with a half-hearted sigh, lowering her eyes and chewing a little more slowly, simply shaking her head defeatedly when Frigga asked if she was alright. Even Thor seemed to take hint at that, and stayed unusually quiet the rest of the meal.

Only two weeks after said message arrived did the unthinkable happened - Thor called Eyia beautiful. And not in the mocking, annoying older brother kind of way.

Eyia knew she was pretty, but it was rather a shock to realize that the prince of Asgard would view her in a romantic way. Had he always thought of her this way? Or was it just now occurring to him that she was available?

She concluded that he was most likely just trying to make one of the village girls jealous; he flirted with them far too often for his own good.

But as the days passed and the compliments droned on, Eyia began to take his affections more seriously, and she wasn't too fond of them.

Sticking out her tongue at him whenever he greeted her in the morning as 'flowering beauty' did not phase him, to her dismay - nor did ignoring him all through meals, or hiding in the library whenever he would come looking to spend time with her.

Neary three weeks later Eyia was completely baffled as to how he had kept up his admirations this long - she had never seen him stick to a village girl for more than five days, certainly nothing like this!

She opened her door one morning to find a handful of flowers set somewhat neatly on the floor before her.

With a sigh Eyia nudged the flowers from her path with her shoe, proceeding on her path to breakfast. Frigga was already in a chair, and Eyia slipped into the seat on the Queen's right, praying to all gods that it would be Loki who sat on her other side and not Thor.

But alas, Thor entered the room first, and took the dreaded seat, Loki trailing in minutes later, quiet as a cat, and open book pressed to his chest as he slipped into a chair on Frigga's left.

Frigga eyed the trio, gaze settling on Eyia for a moment longer than the boys before she shrugged slightly, and waved for the food to be brought in.

Later that day there was a knock on her door - Eyia cracked it open, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when Thor's overly hopeful smile met her.

"Oh." She said. "Hello, Thor."

"Hello!" Thor greeted. "We are going hunting in a bit - would you like to come?"

Eyia raised an eyebrow. "Was it not you who told me ladies were not suited for hunting?"

His smile faded slightly, then perked again. "Sif is coming."

"I appreciate the offer," Eyia gave him a weak smile. "But I do not wish to come."

"But-"

"I am well where I am." Eyia said. "I will see you later, Thor." And before he could respond she closed the door. Shaking her head, she returned to the book she had left on her couch.

The hours passed, and Eyia turned the last past of her book with a long, heavy sigh, setting the hardcover aside to stand and stretch.

It would be dark within the hour - Eyia traced the now familiar corridors of the Asgardian palace to the library to exchange her book for another.

She found Loki there - not reading, but sleeping, curled up on a chair with a book held in limp hands, the tip of his thumb barely keeping his place in the text.

It was a surprise, that was certain; Eyia had never seen Loki sleep before.

With a frown she padded to him, her naturally light alfen steps crossing the distance to gently tug the book from his grasp. She slipped a bit of paper in to hold his place and set it on the little table beside his chair.

She got a strange urge to rearrange his tousled hair, but… no. That would just be weird.

Eyia left him, turning to find the shelf on which her own book belonged, but she didn't make it three meters before there was a light cough behind her.

Eyia twisted to look at him - at first he didn't notice her; he shifted to a more comfortable position and gave a small yawn, almost seeming like he were about to fall asleep again when his half closed eyes caught her's.

Loki sat bolt upright, his feet leaving the chair and settling on the floor immediately, finger-combing his hair quickly, all the while blushing furiously. "Uh…" He looked down, fidgeting with his hands in his lap. "How… how long have you been here?"

"Not long," Eyia said softly. She nodded to the table at his side. "I saved your place for you."

Loki cast the book a quick glance. "Uh… thank you."

They stared - Eyia at Loki, Loki at his lap - a short time longer than awkward.

"I'll um…" Loki fumbled to collect his book and tuck it under his arm as he stood. "I'll… go now…" He hurried out of the library, head down, blushing even more deeply than before.

The door swung shut rather loudly behind him.