"Father!" Volla sprinted down the stairs. It had taken her an entire day's ride to reach Asgard. She was weary, having taken no food or sleep. "Father," she panted as she reached the cells. Guards had pursued her, but she lost them when she turned into the dungeons. She was shocked to find that none manned the cells. A long empty hall stood before her, glass panels showcasing who had befallen an Asgardian captor.

"Volla?" a voice came from down the corridor.

"Father?" Volla repeated again. She crept carefully along, shying away from certain cells. Common criminals and shady-looking Asgardian tricksters stood at their windows, watching the young girl go by. In other cells, menacing monsters snarled or pounded at the glass.

Finally, Volla reached the magician. "Father, what has happened? Why are you imprisoned?"

"Volla," the magician cried, tears streaming down his face, "I have done nothing wrong. I promise you that. It was the mighty Heimdall, on Prince Thor's orders."

"Thor did this?" Volla gasped. "Why? What reason did they give?"

The magician shook his head. "I was coming to find you and Thor and his cronies found me on the trail. They dragged me here without an explanation. More importantly, though, how did you escape from that palace? How did you evade that monster?"

"I didn't escape," Volla corrected him. "He let me go."

"No," the magician said, shaking his head. "That cannot be."

"It is," Volla continued. "He's different. He's kind. Things have changed since I've been there, father."

The magician furrowed his brows in confusion, but a loud series of footsteps interrupted their conversation.

Prince Thor was escorting a new prisoner into the cells. "Volla?" He shoved the criminal into a cell and let one of the guards enact the force field. "What are you doing here? How did you get here? Guards, did no one see her?"

"I came because I saw that my father was a prisoner. You're a monster."

Thor tutted. Behind him, Volstagg teetered down the stairs and gasped when he saw the girl. "It's her!"

"Why is my father here?" Volla demanded. "You must give us a reason. Royalty or not, you can't just throw people in prison." She stomped her foot on the ground and crossed her arms over her chest. "I demand answers."

"The old man was raving and causing a scene at the tavern. He says a monster stole his daughter. Why, there haven't been monsters in these parts for millennia!" Volstagg chuckled.

"There was!" the magician roared. "She can tell you, herself!"

"It's true," Volla said hesitantly. "Are you going to throw me in the cells too?"

"No, no, of course not," Thor replied earnestly.

"And we'll even free your father," Volstagg added.

Thor shot him a look. "Right, that."

"At what cost? I'll do anything," Volla cried. She immediately realized the irony of offering anything for her father's release not once, but twice this year.

"I don't know," Volstagg cut in. "This man seems deranged and dangerous."

A few guards nodded. "His are the ravings of a madman. He's gone on and on about this monster. The only monsters in the realm are the ones we've brought back to be held captive here."

"Thor, you know he isn't crazy." Volla turned to him.

"You said you'd do anything to see his release. Is that right?"

Volla nodded. "Yes, I would. Anything."

"Wonderful!" Thor exclaimed. "Then marry me. We can be wed this evening."

"No, Volla!" The magician cried.

"Absolutely not," Volla spat. "I'll never marry you."

"You'd rather see your father die in these cells than to marry me? What woman doesn't want to be a princess?"

"Not if it means being married to you!" Volla snarled. "You're the monster, Thor."

"Come, Volla, use your head. Think of all of the grand things you'll have and experience that you would never have otherwise."

"I had all of those things at the Jotun's palace," she shot back. "I don't need you. Name another price."

Thor had frozen with a look of utmost ire on his face. "The Jotun's palace, you say?"

The guards exchanged glances. "A Jotun? Here?" they murmured to each other.

"Yes. I had all of the fine things I could want there, and the Jotun isn't even a monster. He's sweet." Volla stepped back against her father's cell as Thor descended on her. "He wouldn't hurt anyone. He released me, while you've thrown my father in prison."

"I don't care for these comparisons," Thor mumbled to Volstagg. He glanced back at the guards. Feigning triumph, he declared, "I have heard myths of this monster! We will follow Volla's prints through the snow to this palace and defeat the monster! Then I'll have won her heart."

"What? No!" Volla exclaimed. "Leave him alone."

"Why? The man who threw your father in jail and made you stay in his stead has won your heart, instead?" Thor laughed. "Perhaps I will release your father and throw you in that cell to rot. Would that win your hand in marriage?"

"No," Volla hissed. "Stop."

"How many Jotun guards are there in the palace?" a guard asked, touching Volla's shoulder.

"How many weapons do we need? How well armed are they?" another cried, tugging at her shirt sleeve.

"Get away from me, all of you!" Volla cried, jerking away from the men's grips.

"The Jotuns will come for the Asgardian children if we don't act! She's made a trail right to the city!" Volstagg exclaimed, enjoying the panic rising. "That's why we've no choice but to go lay siege to the palace and kill the monster for good. Let him fade back into myth and stay there."

The guards cheered. "A Jotun skin for your chambers!"

"Stop!" Volla pounded her fists on Thor's chest. "I won't let you do this."

"We can't have her running back to speak to the monster, can we?" He looked back to the guards, who cheered. "Guards, throw her in with the old man!"

Volla struggled as the guards tossed her into the cell and reactivated the force field.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Thor smirked. "Grab your weapons and let's go!"

***
The Jotun stared blankly at the horizon. With each deer and elk that wandered by in the distance, his heart hammered a little harder until he realized it wasn't a horse. He glanced at the bell jar in the center of the room. The rose dropped a petal in response. The Jotun sighed and rubbed his brow in anguish.

****

The noise of the mob of guards had long since died down. Volla and her father paced in their cell beneath the royal palace. They'd exhausted their options and could derive no means of escape.

"Oh, Father, this is my fault. The Jotun has no idea they're coming. There aren't many guards at the palace. I'm worried." Volla pressed against the clear force field for the umpteenth time and sighed when it didn't budge.

"Be patient, Volla," the magician scolded. "Great ideas don't just fall out of thin air."

"Neither do men like the Jotun, and now Prince Thor is going to kill him. It's not fair, Father." Volla pressed her hands to her temples. "Think, think, think! There has to be a way out of here. Can't you use your magic?"

The magician shook his head sadly, then motioned for Volla to come to him. She did and they embraced.

"Lady Volla, Sir."

The pair looked up in surprise.

Heimdall stood with his head bowed. "I have a confession to make. The prince sent me to bring you in as a prisoner. As you know, Thor found the magician, himself."

Volla shrugged. "Yes, okay. What of it?"

"I am sworn to obey the king's orders, but I have been given no order about keeping you in these prisons on accusations that don't even exist." With a wave of his scepter, the force field faded away. "Please, carry on with whatever you need to do."

Volla and the magician stared at each other, wide-eyed and jaws slack.

****

The warriors sat together in the den, sullenly watching the fire burn down to ash.

"Maybe we should just move to Jotunheim." Fandral wrinkled his nose. "At least there's a society we could blend back into. Empty palace life is getting dull. Sif, won't you come with?"

Sif rolled her eyes. "We cannot abandon our post. You know this."

"Master will let us go," Fandral replied. "I'm sure of it."

"Quiet," Hogun snapped. He held a hand up to emphasize his point. After a moment, he snapped his head and stared as his friends. "Don't you hear that?"

Sif and Fandral closed their eyes and focused on listening. "Is that, is that people?" Fandral puzzled. He smiled widely. "Volla's coming back?"

"No. It's a lot of people," Hogun said. "Listen harder. They don't sound happy, do they?"

Worry hung in the air. The trio sprinted to the palace windows and found themselves shocked at the approaching mob.

"Take care of the guards posted within, plunder anything you wish, but leave the monster for me!" Prince Thor called to his band of guards.

The men cheered and raised their weapons in the air.

"There are fifty strong," Sif exclaimed. "They're our men. Those are our guards."

"They think we're dead, Sif. Don't take it personally when the attack with every ferocity they can muster." Fandral rubbed his hands together. "At least tonight won't be boring! I'll alert Master."

Sif and Hogun headed to the armory as Fandral padded down the hall to the tower. "Master?" he called as he pushed the door open. His own reflection in a broken mirror made him jump as soon as he entered the room. "Eeh. Master, where are you?"

"Leave me in peace."

Fandral found the Jotun sitting in an old broken throne. "Normally, you know I would, Master, but we've got a little bit of a problem."

The Jotun snarled. "I don't care to hear whines about our condition. I have done all I can do."

"No, it's not that at all for once, actually." Fandral cleared his throat. "Have a look out the window, Master."

"I don't care for your games, Fandral."

Fandral sighed. "Have it your way. There's a mob of Asgardian guards marching upon the castle. They're armed for battle."

"Let them come," the Jotun mumbled.

"No, Master, they're coming here. We need to stand and fight. Four Jotuns can send these Asgardians reeling. They'll spare us no mercy in these forms. We need to hit them before they hit us. Master, come." Fandral opened the door and gestured to the stairs. "Master."

"What can four do against so many? I have no desire to kill my kin." The Jotun sighed. "They'll kill us, then."

Fandral stormed out without another word.