The guards pushed open the palace door and crept inside. Thor shoved his way to the front of the pack and looked around. "It looks as though the palace has been abandoned," he called back to the mob. "What a shame my dear brother couldn't convince his guards to stay and suffer with him. Those traitors," he sneered.

Volstagg gave a nod. He'd been the only guard who had remained with Prince Thor that fateful winter when the enchantress had visited. Though Volstagg missed his friends dearly, he would have never traded places with them.

"I can offer you no booty," Thor called back to the men. "Remember, this is still a royal palace, and what you steal from here, you steal from me. Once that brute is dead, I'll reclaim these walls as my own."

Sif and Fandral were standing stone still amid the dark drapes. Their skin blended in perfectly in the dark, the same way it had when Volla had first wandered into the castle. Sif's eyes were wide as she glanced at Fan. "Thor?!" she mouthed. Fandral nodded dumbly in reply. What was going on?

"What of any guards we do find?" a man called from the mob.

Thor shrugged. "Kill them. Leave my brother to me."

"Now!"Hogun exploded forth from the drapes, sword swinging. Sif and Fandral strode out from their side of the hallway and let their weapons fly. The men were surprised, but as warriors, did not flee or panic. They fought mightily, but many fell. While the Frost Giants were not as beautiful as Asgardians, but they were much stronger.

Thor hesitated, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He swung Mjolnir in his left hand. It would be so easy to kill the Jotun guards. There were only three of them. But somewhere, Loki lurked, and Thor refused to let him escape. With a quiet grunt, he tore himself away from the skirmish and ran toward the tower his brother used to frequent as a boy.

***

"We must go faster," Volla cried, pressing her heels into the palace horse. It whinnied and took longer strides. Her father's stead got the message and pounded the ground to keep up.

"We will not get there at all if we kill our horses," the magician called to his daughter. "There is perhaps still time. Two can travel much faster than an entire group. Take heart, Daughter."

Volla bared her teeth. "I certainly hope so."

***

"Don't kill me," an Asgardian guard panted on the hallway floor.

The Jotun guards had rendered most of the mob unconscious, seeing no reason to kill them if not necessary. Sif and Fandral bound many of the unconscious men together, and dragged the dead outside into the snow. Hogun stood above the final guard and smirked down at him. "Tell me why you came here."

"On orders," the man said, coughing up a bit of blood. "At Prince Thor's command. You know as well as I we had no choice. You are the guards who were cursed. They tried to say it was a myth but we know it had to be true. No one would kill the warriors three."

Hogun nodded smugly for a second before gasping in realization. "Volstagg. Where is Volstagg?"

Fandral and Sif immediately drew their weapons and turned to the drapes on either side of the hall.

"Come out, come out, and we won't even have to make you go to sleep," Fandral called. "We promise, as old friends."

"I don't promise. You'd better surrender to Fandral or I'll kill you for being a traitor and turning on a member of the royal family and your fellow warriors," Sif snarled.

Volstagg stepped out of the curtains where he'd been cowering. "Agreed. I surrender." He threw his blade to the ground and put his hands up. "He's right," he nodded to the man on the floor. "We could hardly tell Prince Thor no. You don't think we'll be tried, will we?" His cheeks flushed red. "Gods. What will Odin do to us? Thor means to kill Loki over some village girl."

"Thor!" Fandral cried out. "I'll go." He held his sword before him and ran as quickly as he could towards the East Tower.

***

The Jotun stood on the balcony, watching snowflakes tumble through the air. He exhaled through his mouth, half expecting to see his breath before him. It had been years since that had happened. Holding his hands out before him, the Jotun studied the markings and ridges. What did they mean, anyway? He chuckled. Years in this body without understanding a thing about it.

"Pick up a sword, Brother. I'd hate to kill you unarmed."

The Jotun didn't bother to look up. He knew the voice. "You know you'll best me anyway, Thor. Though I'm curious: what brings you here?"

Thor bristled. "What brings me here?"

"Yes, Brother. It's nice to see you're still as dense as before."

Thor chuckled and lowered his hammer for a moment. "The girl. I asked for her hand in marriage not once, but twice. She denied me, and for what? To run off here to a palace forsaken by the gods, and inhabited by the likes of you. Look at you, you're a monster. She's clearly not right in the head. That being said, I cannot allow you to keep a deranged woman as your prisoner."

"I had no say in this." The Jotun heaved a sigh. "If you're going to end my miserably existence here, please, go right ahead. Tell the guards you slew the beast and barely escaped with your life. It will matter naught to me."

Frowning, Thor set Mjolnir down. "I'd forgotten myself. Loki, you exiled yourself here. Father never said you had to stay here."

"I had to stay here because I am a monster. You think the children wouldn't have screamed when they saw me? You think Odin would have let me stay in the royal palace?" The Jotun let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-roar. "It would have broken Mother's heart, were she not already dead. She was the only one at the royal palace who cared for me, anyway. What does it matter? You have the throne and all the glory."

***

"Is that him?" Volla breathed to herself as her horse thundered onto the palace grounds. "Master!" she screamed up to the East Tower balcony.

The Jotun looked over the balcony and stared in disbelief. "She came back."

Thor slammed up against the railing and gave a war cry. "She came back," he repeated. "She came back?!" He flung out his hand and Mjolnir came forth like a magnet to iron. "You mock me, Brother."

"Leave here," the Jotun snarled. "Leave the girl be."

Thor wound back and thrust toward the Frost Giant with Mjolnir. The Jotun caught the head of the hammer with his hand and the collision sent the brothers tumbling out the window onto the steep tile roof.

"Oh, Norns. Father, what do we do?" Volla dismounted and stood in the snow, staring up at the roof in horror. "Hold on!" she cried. "Thor, don't!"

Thor snarled and tossed Mjolnir at the Jotun. He dodged the blow and let a blast of green magic escape his fingertips. The swirling green light struck Thor and he lost his footing. Mjolnir slid off the roof and fell to the ground twenty feet below as Thor struggled to regain his grasp. The Jotun backed into the shadows and all but disappeared.

"Come out and fight, coward," Thor snarled as he pulled himself back to his feet. The snow blew and he teetered slightly. "You love this girl? Truly, you've been locked up here too long, Brother. She had a King. Why would she ever love a beast?"

"Enough," the Jotun snarled, leaping out from the shadows and grabbing Thor by the throat and jerking him out over the edge of the roof. Thor reached for Mjolnir, but the Frost Giant gave a flick of his free hand. An ice blade grew over it and he smashed the hammer away before it could reach the king's hand.

"Okay, okay, please." Thor clutched at the Jotun's hand. "Brother. Loki."

The Jotun hesitated before drawing Thor back in and dropping him onto the tiles. "Get out. Leave the girl." He turned and in a few strides, was back at the window of his tower. He crawled inside and took a deep breath.

"Master?" a voice came from the hallway.

"Volla," the Jotun called back. "You've returned." He entered the hall and saw Volla at the other end, just coming up the stairs. The searing warmth returned to his chest as he watched the girl run toward sudden whirring sound drew the Jotun's attention. Thor hit him full-force and the two tumbled to the ground.

"Forgive me, brother," Thor panted as he pulled out a dagger and plunged it into the Jotun's Jotun gave a roar and with a swipe of his arm, sent Thor flying. He tumbled down the stairs and landed with a sickening crack at the bottom of the staircase.

"No," Volla shrieked, falling to her knees at the Frost Giant's side. Sif, Fandral, and Hogun had made it to the bottom of the stairs and stood aghast when they saw Thor lying there, his neck at an odd angle.

"Oh, gods, Master," Sif breathed, looking up the stairs. She jumped the king's body and walked halfway up the stairs before stopping. "Give them some space," she mumbled to Fandral and Hogun, who were right behind her.

"You," the Jotun struggled, "chose to come back?"

"Of course. This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, I didn't know he would do something like this. I didn't know he was capable," Volla trailed off.

"Perhaps this isn't so bad," the Jotun whispered. He passed a smile for a moment before his muscles twitched painfully. "I'll be freed of this prison."

"The palace isn't so bad, come now," Volla forced herself to laugh.

The Jotun opened his ruby eyes and studied Volla's face. "I am a fool, Volla. At least I got to look upon your face one last time." His eyes fell closed.

"No, please," Volla whispered, tears falling from her eyes.

The Jotun took a ragged breath.

"Don't, don't," she commanded, taking his hand and squeezing it. The coolness of his skin was fading and she took it was a bad sign. "You can't die. I came back because I love you."

Sif sniffled and looked to Fandral. He wrapped an arm around her waist and nodded glumly. Hogun exhaled in disbelief. A blue shimmer seemed to shine in the room for a moment.

"The rose," Sif mumbled. "It has died as well."

Volla was still crying beside the Jotun's body when the first set of chills ran down her arms. She opened her eyes as another sensation rolled through her abdomen. "What?" she sniffled. Blue streaks of light were swirling about the room, bouncing off of the chandeliers, falling from the torches, pouring in from the windows. Volla quickly crawled back from the Jotun and stared. The lights were concentrating around him, and finally the light was too bright to behold. Volla shielded her eyes. "Father," she called out, "are you doing this?"

"We sent your Father to your chambers to be safe," Sif replied quietly. She was dazed as well. "What is this?"

An electrical surge mixed with a metallic whoosh sounded, and the light burnt out all at once.

"Is he," Fandral muttered. Hogun shrugged.

Volla opened her eyes and looked to the Jotun, not sure what to expect. His armor was on the ground, but the Jotun was gone. "Oh gods," she gasped, sitting up and peering closer. "What?" she exclaimed. A body was under all the armor, stirring.

"Sif," Fandral breathed. "Sif, look."

Sif stopped sniffling and looked up. She beamed. "No!"

A man sat up and met Volla's gaze. Her jaw dropped. "You're the man from the painting."

The man nodded before looking down at his hands and grinning like a madman. "This feels better."

"That can't be. That man is the prince, and the prince is dead." Volla reached out and touched his cheek gingerly. "But you're very much an Asgardian."

"It's me," he exclaimed, touching her face in return. "Volla, it's me."

"Prince Loki," she breathed, bowing her head. "Your Grace, I have no idea what to," her words were muffled as Loki pressed his lips to hers.

"Your Grace," Fandral said cautiously when Loki got to his feet.

"It's me, Fan," Loki said, standing up. The armor hung on him, causing him to laugh.

Fandral squeezed his eyes shut as blue beams hit him. His transformation was much faster. He was standing in his Asgardian form, wondering at the old feeling when Sif and Hogun transformed as well.

***

That evening, the Asgardians donned their best wear and met in the ballroom, gaily chattering and laughing, getting used to their old bodies once more.

The Magician smiled and watched as his daughter danced with the prince. "Why, Volla a princess," he tutted to himself in disbelief before tottering off to the apothecary, laughing all the while.

"A dance, Sif?" Fandral asked, wiggling his eyebrows and puckering his lips so his moustache would move as well.

Sif smiled, then laughed when Hogun stepped between them. "I think I have earned a dance, dealing with you oafs." Hogun swept Sif onto the floor without another word.

"Oafs? You were one of us, pal," Fandral groaned. "Come on. Sif. Well," he called after them as they moved out to the floor, "I'm cutting in soon, you know."

Volla giggled as she watched the scene.

"Come, we may as well join them." Loki smiled coyly at the girl.

"Do you remember how to dance on those short legs?"

"Short legs!" Loki laughed. "Why, they're still quite long for an Asgardian."

"Not for a Jotun," Volla laughed as Loki pulled her onto the floor and twirled her about on the floor.

"Well, then, I could say you're fairly short for a princess."

Volla rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm no princess."

"Well," Loki said, pausing with a twinkle in his eye. "Not yet."