AN: Update Jan, 2015.

We seem to be moving along swiftly, but keep in mind after next chapter I have no more chapters pre-edited and it will be back to the editing board for me. Lot's of new stuff will be coming up after that too, so readers old and new, take care!

Thanks to those reviewing again, your words help me to know that someone is listening :)

"It looks awful." Sif stared blankly in the mirror of her chambers, her face fallen into a scowl by now. The servants present in the room looked disheartened and weary in her presence as they fitted her with new hair, four mornings after the incident. It was a silken piece given to her by the dwarves, only the strands were a magical coal black, a far cry from her once sunny strands. Halios thought the new look made her appear more menacing and strong for the role of a female warrior, that along with how different it was from everyone else in Asgard.

"It does not look wholly bad Sif. I believe it adds much charisma," Halios put delicately while attempting to keep her friend's spirits high.

"Charisma? I'll stick out like a sore thumb, just as the person held accountable for this murder. My hair is ruined and all because I rejected him!" She stood from her vanity table and threw the brush at the mirror, cracking it into little pieces upon impact.

The servants moved with haste as they scuttled out of the room like roaches in a kitchen. They were wise to do so. Her hate for Loki only seemed to grow as time passed, and it had only been four days. Halios too had seen little of the Prince since his public apology to the Lady warrior that had occurred in center of the courtyard; very public and just as humiliating. Truthfully Halios found that he was rather infuriating to be around, and the time apart was refreshing. He was always too quick to answer first for his wit, and he often pitied his own complex of apparent inadequate issues.

"I honestly fear for the woman to become his wife. One look the wrong way at another man and he'll surely torture the poor unfortunate female," Sif went on in exasperation as she threw her hands up in frustration for the prince.

"I suppose he is the jealous type. Perhaps it is a fear of losing one's close to him," Halios answered meekly, the merciful part of her still trying to spare the prince with the benefit of the doubt.

"Or he's a spoiled, vengeful psychopath who cannot handle his emotions in the proper manner." Sif sent a deadpan look to Halios which silenced her from rebutting.

Halios let out an exhausted sigh. It seemed like all of the others had been doing the same thing for the past few days; convincing Sif to let her anger out, and to invite Loki to join them during sparring again. Of course, Halios had not partaken in those matters anymore. Her mornings and afternoons were now consumed with Freyja, a bold woman who was a strict teacher, but also aloof in many of her character flaws. She flaunted her nightly escapades with warriors the next day with Halios often; sharing whom was wonderful in the nocturnal hours or those who were too drunk to keep her salacious appetite sated. Those conversations always spurred curiosity and discomfort in Halios, purely based on her innocence for the subject. Evidently she knew not of the feelings that happened in those moments between and man and a woman, and never would from herein, but it did not forestall her thoughts from venturing off into the "what could have been". It seemed Freyja liked to taunt her with these tales to make her green with envy, but Halios would always smile and laugh at the right moments just to appease her. Freyja would soon look scornful and continue on to the lesson with an air of seriousness.

"You have another lesson with that woman?" Sif asked, her voice tensing on the subject of Freyja. Sif did not like Halios' instructor as she had discovered in the last few days, though all of the men were quick to object to any ill word of the Fertility Goddess, causing both women to roll their eyes to the heavens. Even Hogun looked slightly weathered upon Freyja's constant arrival. Men loved and lusted after her, while women hated and longed to be her it seemed.

"Yes, I should be leaving nigh." Halios stood, brushing out the folds and crinkles' of her shorter dress. The color was of sea foam; a light green with pearl white satin added beneath to pale the shade. The fabric was shear and close to translucent, with no straps on her bare shoulders, the hem ending at mid shin. Twas of Vanir design; Freyja insisted she dress among the fashion of her own heritage now, though Halios had wanted to object to the suggested at first. She was only a portion of Vanir lineage after all. However in her fortune, the gowns were much more to her liking and were comfortable out in the weather, as she had discovered upon venturing outdoors. During meals however, she would stay in Aesir fashion to please the others of the court. Vanir clothing was slightly risqué and garnered many a more looks her way. The attention was unwanted by the celibate. All manner of sexual innuendo suggested her way was unsavory because of her vow.

"I'll walk you outside. We have sparring this day. In fact, your teacher has kindly requested a favor of us, though she has yet to share what may lead into that," Sif noted as they walked. This came as a shock to Halios. What could Freyja possibly want with the warriors?

"Verily, I wish I knew what she wanted of you," Halios remarked speaking her mind.

"We are to meet with her at the nearing end of your lesson. I suspect you are included in the favor." Sif concluded.

"Hopefully all for good reasons," Halios muttered. For an unspoken thought, she could not fathom the ill feelings she held for Freyja. She was her instructor after all, but Halios had conjured a different being in her imagination in comparison to the real entity that had revealed herself. In her own kindest terns, Freyja was a glorified harlot. No one deemed her a useless whore because of her powers; had she been any other woman, she would have been greeted with hostility from the nobility.

She saw the spindles of fiery red hair in contrast to the green garden come into view as she walked alongside Sif. Freyja was regarding the sun with a bright, sultry smile on her face, her long lashes kissing the tops of her cheeks each time she blinked. Halios thought grimly that she would soon be forced to endure another one of her nightly scandalous tales.

"Well, I shall leave you now. Try to stay sane before we collect you for later." Sif took one last glare at Freyja's head before passing a remorseful look on to Halios.

She watched in dismay as the warrior left her in pursuit of the courtyard for sparring, and for a brief moment she wished she had strength in body to draw from so she might have an excuse to join them. There was no reservoir of physical power in her though, and so Halios made her way down to Freyja, who heard her steps before she finished walking.

"Aye greetings mine student." Freyja eyed Halios once, looking at her curves in scrutiny. Sometimes the fertility Goddess had the same look a man would share; as it was rumored Freyja was open to any sexual situation with any partner, though the gazes always made the air thicker with tension.

"I am ready for more learning mine instructor," Halios replied.

"Indeed, let us begin."

Freyja began to hand out books to Halios awaiting arms, ones that were old and worn, laden with dust between the pages. The leather covers were held together at the spine by sinew strings, pulled tight and wrapped thick. The pages of the texts were scratchy and starchy from age, yet the ink was still clear in jet black scrawl. Most told about inner balance for the mind, and how to bring guidance to others. Star reading and potion making was an important part of Fertility, and Halios looked forward to the latter. Her taste for alchemy far outweighed her desire to study astrological bodies.

"I want you to study this." Freyja held out a flower in her palm for Halios to take. She admired the profile of the bud; its petals were a velvety purple with a white pollen center, and the vibrant green stem stretched down to a tangle of leaves. Surely there was another deep meaning that Freyja would want her to discover, but her mind could not expand beyond the idea of it being a simple flower.

"Am I to plant it?" Halios asked unsure.

"Nay, you are to save it first. Before you can bring about fertility and life, you must look after the host willing to procreate. A flower is a poor metaphor in comparison to the body, but alas you need time before helping with cases in the healing ward. Try and use the most natural of healing remedies in opposed to magic for caring in this study."

"May I inquire why?"

"Indeed. Some cases you come across might hold confliction with magic. Not every procreator will want special help when trying for a child. You will come across these cases of parents that will request specific natural healing remedies from you, and not the wave of a hand to summon seiðr." Freyja cautioned.

"Aye, those being the difficult cases I presume," Halios spoke while handling the petals gently between her fingers.

Freyja nodded before continuing with her instruction "In that book I want you to find the potion called fødsel." Halios complied while fingering through the notes. She had never come across so many healing draughts before, and if time had been on her side, she would have taken the opportunity to appreciate a number of them. She stopped upon finding the title of the fødsel potion, a long list of ingredients marking the left-hand of the page, and the instructions to brew beneath.

"Fødsel; a complex potion containing the capability to cause spontaneous birth in nature. Am I to make this?" Halios asked bewildered.

"Tis the first task set upon to all apprentices I have ever trained. Normally when I instructed in Vanaheim, I had groups of students who would go together in search of the one rare ingredient required to complete this brew, however you are the first of whom I have taught solo, and so you will need help on this quest."

"I would ask to choose whom I take with me," Halios requested.

"Indeed, I assumed you would take the warriors so I sought to speak with them on this day."

"Very well, and I thank you for the opportunity you bestow before me." Halios wanted to smile, but her teacher looked less than cheerful: she gave a grave look instead.

"Know that this will not be an easy task. Former apprentices have died on this mission, and I would hate to lose you so quickly."

Halios nodded in response, heeding the cautionary word of the elder Goddess. With the warriors accompanying her it eased her mind, but not enough to stop her from worrying about their safety. Perhaps they would decline and she would be left to take other strangers with her, or worse venture alone. She pushed the thoughts away as the lesson continued into other topics.

She was able to keep the flower bud safe, transporting it into a pot that would ease the journey all the way to stay in her chambers for caring. In part of being a Fertility Goddess, she was also expected to talk through couples problems and ease their distress in times of procreating. Halios deemed herself calm and nurturing enough to possibly do a good job in that aspect, though she was surprised to learn how much can go wrong in communication. The sun had started to boil over her during late afternoon, and she was thankful for the thin Vanir garb. Truthfully, Asgardian wear never fit her properly anyway, and the gowns of Vanaheim matched her pixie shape perfectly. It all spoke volumes as to how she truly never was an Aesir, and the thought was now more comforting while amongst another of her kin.

As Sif had said, towards the end of her lesson the others had arrived; sweating and panting from a hard day's work out under the burning rays. Fandral smiled upon seeing her, before passing Freyja a hateful look that did not go well with his usual jovial face. The fertility Goddess only smirked in reply, expecting as such it appeared. When Halios had first brought news to Fandral of her vow, he had lost all of his sense and gone ballistic. He shouted curses repeatedly on how it was not fair for her to give up her whole life for the good of Asgard. He went even as far as to confront Freyja, who had only replied with calm and disregarding answers. Thor had pulled him away before any damaged was succumbed to the scarlet Vanir, and the matter had been left at that.

"How are you this day my friend?" He asked cheerfully, sitting down on the grass beside her.

"I am well, though I have a large request to now ask of you." Halios bit her lip in contemplation, but it was Freyja who spoke above her.

"I would ask that you all accompany Halios to Aegirheim. She is to start her brewing of the fødsel, and those of you who know it well are aware that the last key ingredient cannot be found in your storehouses; silver liquid from the sea giants."

The air was dimmed in silence as everyone comprehended the meaning of the mission now. Aegirheim was the underwater Kingdom off the coast of Vanaheim. Twas a perilous trek, and the sea giants whom lived there were not always so welcoming. The risk of being drown was common, as was the barred passage if the bribe was not pleasing enough to allow entrance into the ocean halls.

After a long while, words were echoed. "Aye, of course I would accompany my friend; nay I would guard her with my life," Fandral spoke while placing a hand over his chest plate.

"You cannot go without me," Sif put in.

Volstagg bellowed a laugh that rumbled his cauldron belly while Hogun gave a silent nod.

"I would go as well." Thor agreed only to have Halios stand in protest.

"I do not think your father would favor me taking his son into danger," Halios persisted.

"Nonsense, I am no longer a fledgling and I am as mighty a warrior as any. It would shame me to not go with you." His words were soft on her ears, making her appease in acceptance. "Besides, I have found myself in danger on more perilous treks than Aegirheim. This will pose little challenge for me."

"You shall leave tomorrow morning when the cocks may crow. I should think you will all need your rest. I will retire now, and leave you in good company." Freyja stood and left the others as they too walked inside the Palace.

"We need a magician," Fandral pointed out. Everyone else had been thinking the same, but for fear of Sif's reaction, had kept their tongues behind their teeth.

"No," Sif stated bluntly.

"I am sorry Sif, but we cannot go without Loki's help," Thor butted in.

"Why? We would be no better off with him I think," She argued weakly.

"If the sea giants were to leave us to drown, only Loki's magic would safe us. You know what happens when a soul dies amongst the seas, and I do not augur such a fate." Everyone shuddered at Thor's words.

Queen Ran, wife to King Aegir, would steal the souls of those lost at sea and turn them to ghosts, phantoms forever tethered to the ocean floor to celebrate at the dining table in Aegirheim until Ran saw no more entertainment from them in her halls.

Sif huffed in defeat, "Then who shall go ask the brooding one?"

"I shall," Halios piped in. All eyes shot to her with curiosity, and she felt her confidence wane slightly under the stares. "I suspect I could convince him well enough that is…"

"Especially in those threads," Thor said with a grin, causing Halios' face to heat with blood. "I am sorry friend, I know of your vow, but I could not resist the temptation to mention those gowns that Freyja so frivolously gave on to you."

"Are they unflattering?" She asked with uncertainty.

"Quite the opposite; if you were to wear that during dining, every male eye would be split between you and Freyja," Fandral joked. "However, Loki does not look to be the ogling type, so you should be fine."

"Oh yes, because he shows so much respect to a woman's appearance," Sif bit back bitterly.

"I'll just go speak with him then," Halios said finally while ignoring Sif's gibe.

"His room is adjacent to mine; I will show you the way." Thor agreed as they broke apart from the group.

Halios tried to work in her head the exact words to say, but her efforts were failing her. She had not spoken with him since their spat outside the steps to the palace, and suddenly this seemed like a terrible idea. Would he be angry as before or had he reverted back to the silent, yet still cold Loki? Deciding it was an unpredictable situation, she kept her face stoic and her emotions guarded.

"His door is to the left, though I caution to tread lightly on asking his help. He doesn't ever offer it often, but I just sense that you may do some good to get him out of his stupor." Thor hesitated in step before leaving her for his own chambers.

For an eternity she just stood outside in the hall, staring at the painted wood of the door; admiring the grooves and carvings in the grains while the brass handle gleamed from the suns rays that scattered in through windows and balconies. She was just about to muster up the courage to knock when the door opened on itself, revealing a wide-eyed Loki. He was flabbergasted to find her outside his door, still looking to be having an inner argument with herself. He recovered from his shock well, and turned his demeanor calm.

"Can I help you, or are you lost?" He asked blandly.

"I need to speak with you; may I come in for a short moment?" Her voice was hard, and it was unrecognizable to both their ears.

"If you are swift in your conversation." He reluctantly stepped back to allow her entrance.

In truth, he had been on her mind for the past days since they had last spoken, and it wasn't until this time that she was able to search him out. Lucky for her she had found him first before he could have concealed himself amongst some other part of the Palace, but the matter in circumstance was unsettling. She didn't want to appear as a bad friend, only coming to him now out of personal need. Hel, maybe they weren't even friends, but Halios had adamantly continued to try until that disagreement on the bridge to the Bifrost. He resembled a man curious to hear what she had to say, and it must have gone against his normal rules, allowing her inside his chambers. He was leant up against the closed door, arms casually crossed before his chest while waiting for her to speak. She would have felt much more confident in asking if it wasn't for his traveling stare, perusing her person with unreadable eyes; Goddess be cursed for Freyja giving her those pesky gowns!

Hehe even Loki is allowed to stare at her! The next few chapters coming up are some of my favorites, and it is nice not to have to do all that research into the Mythology again.