Loki gnashed his teeth behind pressed lips as he watched the chubby baby princess chew on her blue silk blanket with the royal insignia on it. Blast it all! Two years had gone by and the child had not made even one snowflake, she had just had a few colds now and again. Maybe he hadn't used enough blood. He paced in circles on the balcony outside the servant's quarters. It was possible that Princess Elsa (a fitting name for a future queen, it sounded charming yet deadly in his opinion) had done something of interest to him while she was locked away in her room, but there was little chance of him sneaking past the security to her room now, even if he took the form of one of her guards. They could not be distracted or compromised. Security to the princess's chamber had been exponentially tightened after an incident with the king's sister in another kingdom. Her poor child had been taken before her very eyes. Well, that was just poor form. You don't just take a child when the parents are there, especially if you have no intention to leave a changeling in its place! Humph, amateurs.

He looked up to see the clouds greying and thickening, leaving a dreary overcast on the browning trees. The wind whispered as it shook the branches and formed ripples in the calm fjord below him. The waters were cold enough to make hands turn red, but not quite enough to freeze. There was no rush though since winter was just beginning. Soon, this entire land would be an icy paradise.

Maybe he was being too impatient with the girl. After all, this was the first time he'd tried anything like this; he wasn't sure how long it would take for her ice powers to blossom, if they ever would. He was already disappointed once when he witnessed her birth and her skin was not blue nor her eyes red. She did have hair that was so blindingly blonde it could pass for white, especially against her pink skin and light blue eyes. So far everyone adored her, which was a great way to start. If she was unpopular to begin with, he wouldn't be able to tell if they didn't like her because of the ice powers, or if she just wasn't charming enough.

As he was pondering to himself, he heard a sneeze and then a shocked scream from inside. He peered into the window to find the nanny kneeling on the ground, covering her face as if it had been struck. The princess sat on the bed, sniffling as a short sharp icicle dangled from her nose. The nanny rubbed the thin film of ice from her face and stared at the baby princess in horror and disbelief, to which she smiled back, giggling and sticking her fingers in her mouth. The tubby older woman dashed out, screaming her way down to the king and queen's room.

Loki was so proud, he almost wanted to cry. Phase one was a success! While the foolish nurse had left Elsa unattended, he slipped through the locked French doors and kneeled down before the princess.

"My lady." He carefully pulled the toddler's thumb from her mouth and kissed soft hand as she gazed at him with widened eyes, not out of fear, but curiosity. He gently wiped the icicle from her nose, and wiped the trickles of ice off of her face.

"Mmm…!" Elsa whined and pulled away, for she didn't like being handled so much by strangers.

"Oh, forgive me, where are my manners? I should know better than to lay my hand on the princess..." He bowed before her, "…but that was quite the mess you made on your face. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Loki, of Asgard."

Elsa had already gotten used to strangers, especially since she seemed to be introduced to a new duke or prince every few weeks. She wasn't required to do much, just behave and not cause a fuss, and not to say a word. She thought he was just another royal her parents wanted her to meet, just like all the times before.

"You are very special, your highness. You can do things that other humans cannot. Now, you're going to be the Queen one day, just like your beautiful mother." He leaned his elbows down on the bed to face her directly, "Now I don't know if you can understand what I'm saying, but if you can, then you should hear it."

He held up the small spike of ice that she made, "This was not an accident. I made you this way. This was my design, so I want you to use it. I want you to use this power as often as you can. You'll get better with practice, and I want to see how much you can do."

As the clopping of boots grew louder in the distance, Loki tucked the icicle into his pocket as a sample and escaped from the castle grounds. Looks like his patience had paid off after all. He cupped the souvenir in his hands; it wasn't much, but it was an excellent start. Now that he knew that the potion had worked, he would make sure to visit more often.