Notes:

So, we're a bit late, but that's mostly because I've had some crazy illness lingering around my house, and fevers and vomiting mean I'm not writing, especially when its the little one not feeling well. I'm glad to report that we are all getting better, and that means updates.

Enjoy.

Frosty Throne

Chapter 4: Winter Green

Darcy curled her feet up under herself, leaning back against a great stone pillar, Loki's copy of Lord of the Rings perched in her lap and Skrymir cuddled up against her side. The cat had appointed himself as her constant companion, a warm dark shadow, as she ventured through the palace. She idly rubbed her fingers into the feline's silky fur, his low rumbling purr running through her body as he pushed his large head into her hand.

Far below the window, Darcy watched as Thor patiently helped Jane up onto her horse, his hand gentle against her friend's back as the spirited animal danced away a few paces before Jane got settled. Darcy smiled into the pages of the book as Jane let out an indigent squeak.

"She'll get the hang of it," she told Skrymir, the cat's eyes rolled up to meet hers, he huffed gently, his steady rumbling purrs never pausing. "Jane's just more of a math and thinking person, doing takes more concentration for her."

Skrymir didn't have a response, not that she expected one. Darcy turned back to the book, lifting the tome up to her face and taking a deep breath of the old parchment smell, a tiny hint of spearmint, that she'd come to associate with the Trickster God's magic; even Skrymir's fur, under the warm musky smell of cat, had a hint of frosty mint, as did everything else in his rooms. She relaxed down into the pillar and sunk back into the world of Middle Earth, Jane's protestations from the grounds below falling away as Tolkien's flowing language washed over her.

In the three days they'd been in Asgard, Darcy had experienced nothing but perfect weather, there always seemed to be a warm breeze coming off the water, bringing with it the scent of salt water, filtering through the open arches of the palace. It was no wonder most of the windows had no glass and every room had an expansive balcony. Even her bathroom had a balcony off the bath, which felt more like a small warm pool then a bathtub.

Skrymir's ears perked while Darcy was still lost in the smell of the ocean and her mind was filled with thoughts of the Rohirrim, the big cat's head bumped gently at her side, before stilling completely. Darcy looked down at her companion, who tipped his head to one side. She stuck her finger to mark her page and listened. Out of the corner of her eye she could have sworn she saw a flash of black and green, the scent of cold mint washing away the ocean born to her on the wind. She dropped the book down on the bench and rolled to her feet, her cat hot at her heels as she rounded the corner and ran smack into Odin, who looked shocked to see her.

"Lady Darcy," he steadied her with his hand on her shoulders. "I did not expect to see you here." Odin patted absently at Skrymir's head, the black cat arching into his touch. "Are you not scheduled to be in the ring with my son and the Lady Jane?"

"Nope," Darcy shrugged, straightening out her dress, not entirely comfortable in the Asgardian garb. "Thor figured Jane would benefit from more one on one tutelage, his words."

"I see," the Allfather nodded. "That does seem wise; your friend is quite unskilled in horsemanship."

"Understatement," Darcy rolled her eyes and grinned when she caught the Allfather doing the same. "So, highness, what brings you down here?"

"I found myself with a free morning," Odin mused, holding out his arm for Darcy to take. "I thought I would take advantage of that time and visit the palace library. I find I do not get to visit as often as I would like."

Darcy slipped her hand around the King's elbow and fell into step with him. "Tragic," she smiled at his chuckle. "I haven't seen the library yet."

"Indeed," he hummed, placing his free hand over hers. "I will have words with my son about depriving his dear friend of the riches that are held in the Asgardian Library."

The gilded door to the library itself stood two stories tall, carved with scrolling leaves and vines, creatures that Darcy both did and didn't recognize peering around the foliage. Odin smiled down at Darcy's awed expression, dropping her had to pull the doors open. The heavy doors opened easily under the Allfather's grasp, flooding Darcy's senses with the rich smell of musky paper and sun warmed leather. She closed her eyes and took a long deep breath, filling her entire body with the warm scent of knowledge. "I feel like I should warn you," she smiled in Odin's direction her eyes still closed. "Now that you've brought me here, I may never leave."

The Allfather's laugh echoed through the open stacks. "I am sure my son and the Lady Jane will miss you dearly," he left the doors hanging open. "Feel free to borrow any books you would like, but please remember to return them here. Loki's rooms have oft been the repository for mislaid books."

"I have never forgotten to return a library book," Darcy stepped into the room, her eyes flitting from one shelf to the next in the endless expanse of leather and gliding. "Except for the one that Jane let get sucked into a worm hole, but I paid for it." The Allfather nodded sagely. "Well, I'm sure you have lots to do, if you could just pint me at the fiction section, I'll leave you to it."

"Of course," he led her over to a large circular desk in the center of the room, and picked up a small glass ball. He dropped it into her cupped hands and waved a hand over it, causing it to glow; a subtle taste of mint coated the back of her throat. "Just tell it what you are in search of; it will guide you to your destination." Darcy looked down at the ball and back at Odin, giving him a small smile. "I will be here for a few hours, should you require assistance." She nodded, licking the scent of spearmint off her lips as he turned to walk away, sure that the answers to her questions would not be found within the walls of the palace library.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Darcy mumbled to Skrymir, who bumped his head against her hip, watching her intently. "Did you notice that, too?" she asked the cat. He didn't answer, just cocked his head to the side. "What do you think it means?" Skrymir just bumped his head against her hands, still holding the glowing ball. "You want me to ask the crystal ball?" He bumped her hands again, and she shrugged. "I want to learn about magic on Asgard," she said quietly to the orb, watching it rise from her hands and gently bob down a nearby aisle. "I guess we just follow," Skrymir just started off after the ball, and Darcy figured when in Rome.

Darcy stretched out on a long stone bench her head pillowed against Skrymir, sun warming her, even under the shade of a tall tree. She carefully turned the pages of the book she'd found in the library, thanks to the magic crystal ball, which detailed the intricacies of personal magic. The tome was ancient and thick enough that she had to rest it against her knees while she read, it was far too heavy to hold it up. She hadn't even begun to answer the questions her time with the Allfather had stirred up, but the material was fascinating none the less.

Darcy carefully turned the thin parchment pages, each covered in delicately handwritten text, the ink so old it had faded from a sharp black to an entrancing sapphire blue, punctuated by breath taking gilded illuminations that seemed almost to move out of the corner of her eyes. She shifted her knees, tilting the book back so she didn't bend the pages as she turned them, Skrymir grumbled as she shifted, but made no more to change his position as her pillow.

"You know," Darcy addressed the cat as they both basked in the light afternoon breeze. "Thor said something about you being a magical construct," Skrymir made no indication that he was paying any attention to his human. "I'm by no means an expert," she continued, her eyes skimming over the illuminations, the gilding as bright as the day it was made, even if the colors of the ink had faded and the parchment yellowed. "But if that's true, either Loki was like super magician, or something's hinky." The cat just huffed, a warm rumbling purr of contentment vibrating deep from his belly. "I'm glad you're here, too."

"Lady Darcy," Thor's voice boomed from behind the emerald green row of roses. "Father said you discovered the treasures of the library," the Thunder God's face appeared over the hedge, a wide grin on his face. "And now you've found mother's roses."

"Skrymir lead the way," she tucked a ribbon between the pages and carefully set the book aside. "How's things, big guy?"

"Things are good, little sister," the god dropped his heavy bulk on to the bench, tucking Darcy's book off to the side. "I am most pleased with how my Jane is progressing with her riding lessons."

"She's not an animal person," Darcy leaned against her friend's shoulder, the cat shifting so his head lay in her lap, her fingers automatically digging into the thick, soft fur between his ears, restarting the purr engine.

"No, she is made for numbers and machines," Thor agreed, wrapping his arm around his friend, surrounding her in his warm leather and male musk. "But she is trying, and she is doing so for me, and for that I love her more."

"She loves you too," Darcy hummed, Skrymir pushing his great big head into her belly.

"You look very well in your Asgardian dress, dear sister," he smiled warmly down at her. "Green truly suits your fair coloring."

"You think?" she skimmed her hand down the deep folds of the dress. "It's a bit intimidating." The dress was a deep emerald with long layered folds and a high waist, cinched tight with an embroidered gold cord. Darcy had protested against the gold vambraces that covered her arms from nearly wrist to elbow, but in the end, she'd given in when her seamstress, a girl named Hildare, looked like Darcy'd just run over her puppy. She wasn't too proud to admit that they were surprisingly comfortable. She had put her foot down when Hildare had tried to add a gold diadem to her hair. "I mean, it's beautiful, but I'm just lounging."

"If you feel more comfortable in your Midgardian garb," Thor shrugged. "I see no reason to protest."

"Odin thinks I need to learn to move in it," she told him, shifting the gold broach that gathered the dress at each shoulder. She absolutely loved the Ouroboros snakes, their tiny emerald eyes gleaming as she moved. "I'm pretty sure he's right, I've tripped like a dozen times, and I really don't want to take a header in the middle of your wedding."

"My father is a wise man," the prince bowed his head to her. "I must be off, but I wanted to make sure you were well."

"I'm good big guy," she beaned up at him. "Just a little light reading in the sun."

Thor picked up the heavy ancient tome. "You and my brother," he turned the book and read the spine. "I do not think either of you understand the meaning of light reading." He handed the book to his friend and stood. "It pleases me to see that you have become acquainted with Allspeak, perhaps you can teach my Jane." He disappeared down the pathway without a backwards glance.

"The books in English," Darcy told Skrymir, who was singularly unimpressed. "It is, this one didn't do the shimmery snake letters like the ones in Loki's library, it was in English when I found it," the cat just looked at her. "Perhaps that's a mystery for another time." Skrymir seemed to agree, curling back up on the bench and promptly falling asleep. "Good talk," she swung her legs back up onto the stone bench and pillowed her head against the cat, crossing her legs and probing the book back up.

"I see the orb guided you well," Odin swept down the path some time later, his gold eye patch glinting in the late afternoon sun. "Did it perhaps also guide you to Frigga's grove?"

"The cat found it," Darcy moved to sit up, feeling uncomfortable addressing the King laying down, what little edicate her mother had instilled in her, rearing its head, but he waved her off, perching himself on the bench across the path.

"Like attracts like when it comes to strong magic's," the king mused. "Your stockings seem to have a face on them, my lady."

Darcy turned her ankle under her voluminous skirts, looking down at the red monster on her black socks. "It's Elmo," she told him, the Allfather sat silently waiting for her to elaborate. "He's a character from a kids show."

"And Midgardian's wear the likeness of these characters upon their stockings?" Odin surmised.

"Only the best," she agreed. "I like novelty socks. White socks are boring."

"Indeed," he nodded, pulling himself back up from the bench. "They are charming." He took out a pair of clippers and cut a few roses from the hedge that were just starting to bloom. "I will see you for the evening meal, my dear," he tucked a single bud behind her ear as he passed, and scratched Skrymir behind the ears. "Enjoy your reading."

Darcy waited until Odin was out of sight before she turned to Skrymir. "Something's hinky," she whispered to the cat. "I swear his eye was green just now, but I know it was blue like Thor's earlier." The cat tilted his head. "And his magic, it definitely feels like the stuff left over in Loki's room." The cat huffed. "I'm smelling something rotten in the state of Denmark." Skrymir laid his head back down and waited for Darcy to go back to her reading. "Green minty magic," she mumbled, and looked down at the orb. "I wonder if the orb can find things other than books?"

Notes:

Comments, suggestions, encouragement... all are welcome in the box below. My muse needs a bit of a boost after a couple of weeks without writing.

Thank you all for the amazing love you send, and for taking the time to read this story.