Finally got a new chapter after over two weeks! Huzzah! I'd made a few edits to this chapter last night after I'd sent it to my lovely beta…then accidentally deleted them all. I fail at life. Ah well. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I decided to split it into two parts to keep it more manageable (it would have been a beast if I'd kept going). Many thanks to Lilith for betaing once again!

Loki had no business to see to; that had been his first outright lie to Coyote, certainly not his last, but he had meant no harm by it. He'd only said it in order to allow her to drop her heightened defenses, to let her relax and bask in the beauty of the Asgardian horses she immediately adored. He kept himself at a safe distance where he could observe her, telling himself it was for her own safety considering the wildness of such steeds, but not able to deny he took joy in watching her. The dethroned goddess had befriended several of the royal steeds and now ran with them in a game of tag, the horses always catching her within seconds, but she gave them a merry chase regardless. A heat began to form in Loki's chest at the sight of her smile, the sound of her laughter, the shedding of her insecurities about the Realm Eternal. The way her hair flew behind her as she ran after the grey mare she'd given her fruit to entranced him. Her body moved to and fro with such grace and calculation that no step was wasted; when a horse shied to her left, she mirrored the movement perfectly.

The prince had become so engrossed in the play between beast and woman that he did not notice the approach of another until she was upon him. He turned, startled, to find the lady Tova looking down the fields at her fellow Edunian with a fond smile. How had she moved so quietly? Before he could say a word, Tova turned to him. "I did not mean to intrude, your highness. I just wanted to say goodbye to Coyote before we depart home for Edun."

Loki inclined his head, but brushed off her apology. "It is no intrusion, my lady," he said softly. "You are leaving so soon?"

"Yes. Many of us would very much like to see our families again after Ralsto deceived us." Her pale eyes hardened at the mention of the man's name.

He looked at her thoughtfully, tilting his head as if to see her better. "If it is any consolation, I did not like the look of him from the start. How did he convince you all to come to Asgard at all?" He was genuinely curious, and since Coyote would yield no answers, he may as well try from another source.

Tova shrugged. "Some were eager to come, to be perfectly frank. They'd hoped to catch the eye of either yourself or Prince Thor - or whoever else happened to look their way." Loki let out a brief chuckle at that. "Others, like myself, were promised that we would be taught the ways of the Aesir and Vanir, to learn from them in order to better our own people. I, especially, allowed myself to be ensnared in that lie." Her voice had lost its lightness at the declaration.

"What did you hope to learn here?"

"New medicines, new ways of helping others heal from sickness or wounds. My mother and father are both healers, fantastic at their professions, but it was not enough for me. Now, looking back at it all, I am ashamed of myself."

"Whatever for?"

"For thinking that their skills were not good enough. That those of Asgard were infinitely superior and that I could master them all on my own." She shook her head in what seemed to be disgust at herself. "I did not realize how deeply I'd hurt my parents by coming here. My first act when I return will be to beg their forgiveness and ask that they take me back as their apprentice."

"A noble gesture, indeed," Loki commented. "I am sure that they have already forgiven you. You are their daughter, after all." She bowed her head to him, a true smile brightening her face. A comfortable silence broken only by the laughter of the foreigner and the whinnies of the horses passed between the prince and the healers' daughter. The former's eyes never shifted from Coyote as he addressed Tova. "Tell me, Lady Tova. What do you know of Coyote? What reason brought her to Asgard? She does not strike me as one who would willingly follow a man such as Ralsto."

He felt Tova stiffen beside him. "Well, what has she already told you? I do not wish to repeat things you already know."

"That's just it: I know next to nothing about her. All she said when we first spoke was that the gown she'd been given was 'hideous' and that she was cast out from her home world because of a trick played on a diplomat's son. Aside from that, she refuses to speak to me about herself…" He let the sentence trail off when he sensed Tova's silent laughter. He looked at her, puzzled. "Have I said something amusing?"

She waved a hand to dismiss the notion. "No, no. It's just…is that really what she told you?" He stared at her as if to say, 'of course it is. I just said so, didn't I?' She sobered instantly. "If she has not told you the real reason for her banishment, then I most certainly won't. It is not my place."

"Lady Tova," he coaxed gently. "I do not ask for specifics or anything that would cause harm to your friendship with Coyote…"

"No, no, no. We are not friends," Tova quickly corrected. "We only just met face to face on the journey here."

"But you seem to know more about her than anyone else in your company." He knew that look on her face; she desperately wanted to divulge what she knew about the other woman, but she did not want to cause any damage to their relationship, whatever it was, or cause Coyote any pain. "I swear to you on my honor as a prince of Asgard and son of the Allfather that whatever you choose to say shall not pass from me to Coyote, nor anyone else for that matter. Whatever you choose to tell me will remain between us."

He waited patiently as Tova hesitated for several moments, torn between her choices. Being caught in the middle clearly caused her great personal agony. She eventually sighed in defeat and lowered herself gracefully to the ground. He joined her so as to put her more at ease. She did not look at him, focusing instead on Coyote, still at play. "The incident with the bed full of serpents did indeed happen, but it was many years ago. It was not the reason for her exile." She paused heavily. "The real reason…" She seemed to struggle for the right words, finally finding them in a rush of breath. "She killed her husband on their wedding night."

Oooooo! Cliffhanger!