Hey thank you for reading, I hope that you like this new chapter and are enjoying the story so far. I am once again so very sorry that it has been so long again since I up-dated. Luckily my computer is still working fine, it was other things that took priority for a bite. So again sorry and I do plan to up-date more regularly from now on.

Dalonega Noquisi. Thank you so much for your review. It is a hard thing, harder than I thought it would be. There is always the danger of it coming across as very cheesy. I love that idea. I don't know how to turn it in to a good nickname. I will definitely have to try and use that imagery though, so thanks for that. I also don't know if darkness is always a bad thing or negative. If there was no darkness we would not see stars. We would not appreciate the light. In darkness we can find peace and rest, calmness. That all sounded like motivational quotes don't they. Thanks again.

Ester and Loki. Thank you so much for the feedback. I have thought about that, but I didn't want to push things too far too fast, but I probably should begin to move things on a little.

The sun poured in through the large glass doors that lead out onto the balcony. It hit Eir right on the face. At first she tried to ignore it, pat it away with the slight move of her hand in-front of her face, but when it was clear that it was not going anywhere, she in some part of her not fully working mind realised that she had to be the one to move more dramatically instead. With a faint groan she rolled over onto her other side. She was now facing the still sleeping Loki who had remained sleeping on his back, looking up at the celling.

Though it had been very faint, he was a very light sleeper and was woken by the small groan that Eir made as she turned over. The sun did not reach far enough into the chamber to touch him, so when he slowly opened his eyes he was not blinded by the light and was able to take a few seconds to wake up more and take in his surroundings. He quickly knew that he was in his chambers, but for a brief second he did not remember why he was sleeping on the rug in the centre of his room. He had on a number of occasions fallen asleep at his desk, but never on the floor. A quick glance to his right he could see out of the corner of his eyes, Eir and Fenrir sleeping, it all came quickly back to him.

As she had rolled over onto her side a strand of her black hair had fallen across her face. Reaching out before he had a chance to think about the action, he tucked the loss hair back behind her ear. He did this as lightly as he could, but she still felt it and moved a little to try and shack off the light touch. Her dark eyes now began to open slightly. Loki returned the hand he had used to tuck her hair to its previous position, to cross over his chest. For a second he thought about closing his eyes again, pretending to still be asleep. Deciding against this he just wanted for her to wake up fully.

Needing to stretch Eir used her hands to help push her upper body of the ground. Her now wide open eyes glanced around the room. It seemed different in the morning light. When she had seen it before it had been in a half light, making it seem grander and more imposing than it actually was. It was still large and the detail in the features were slightly ornate, but there was also an airy feel to it. Created she assumed mainly by almost the whole of one wall being made up of the large glass doors that led out to the balcony. The other wall covered almost fully in books also helped add a homely, more comfortably feel to the room. She could just imagine him spending the hours that she did not see him or knew that he was training here, just reading in comfortable silence.

Once her eyes met his he offered a weak smile and a greeting as he used his arms to pull his upper body off the ground. She return his greeting with a slight smile as well. They both then turned their attention to the reason that they had been sleeping on the floor in the first place. Eir smiled a little wider as she looked down at the sleeping Hel-wolf. His back legs where twitching a little. Most likely he was dreaming of running. Pulling her legs in towards her she placed her weight on them allowing her to free her hands to stroke the sleeping creature.

"He seems to be recovering well."

"Was there ever any doubt." Loki said in a surprisingly cleat voice for having just woken up. He also moved to pull himself up into a sitting position.

"Not with me healing him, no there wasn't. I just thought it would be rude to not act a little surprised." She ended with a faint laugh.

Before he had a chance to say anything in reply the door to his chambers where suddenly pushed open. On reflex they both quickly pulled themselves to their feet. Their hearts racing. Their sudden movement finally woke Fenrir who began to bark as he rolled onto his legs and ran towards the opening door. The person entering Loki's chambers met their eyes the second they stepped through the door, offering a small smile followed by a faint sigh.

"I am glad you're both awake." Frigga said in a low voice. Seeing the confusion on their faces she clarified. "I had a feeling that you were up to something." She said directly to Loki. "When I came by to check on you last night when you missed dinner I saw you two sleeping. I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"Thank you." Loki did not have to clarify what he was thanking his Mother for. He was sure that she had been forced to do something to make sure that no one else came looking for him, and that Eir's Father did not miss her. Realising also that it was best not to know what she had done to achieve this he did not say anything else. Eir too nodded her agreement with his gratitude.

"You are welcome. Though next time do not keep things from me." The implication being that he could get away with more if they kept her onside or at least did not lie to her. "I also think that it is best you return home now Eir. Your Father will start to miss you."

Still not able to find any words she nodded. After she did she kept her head lowered as the situation that the Queen had found her in began to dawn on her. It was all very innocent and they all knew that, but the fact was still that she had spent the night in the Prince's chambers. Hoping that no hint of a blush had crossed her face she moved quickly towards the door. As she passed Frigga, she gave her a gentle pat on the back. A sign that all was understood and she need not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. Just as she reached the door Loki spoke.

"Thank you Eir…..I could not have done it without you."

That was a lie, or at the very least an exaggeration, but she took it without comment. Looking back she gave a quick smile and began to all but run out of the palace back to her home. Hoping that her Father had not woken yet and realised that she was missing. She had really been testing his patience over the last few months. This could be the final thing that pushed him to lose his patience with her. That was something that she wanted to avoid, at least for as long as she could. She had a very strong feeling that his was not going to be the last, not by a long way, of the things that she would do that he would have to forgive her for. So she wanted to make sure that she kept his understanding and forgiveness for as long as she could.

Once she was out of the door Loki turned quickly towards Fenrir. Wanting to shack the stare that he knew that his Mother was giving him. This caused her to laugh a little under her breath. It was nice to see her son acting like a normal nervous young man. He was too smart for his own good most of the time. This gave him an air of being older than he was, acting older than he was. At times like this when he acted his age it always touched her heart. There was so much pressure on both of her sons. She worried for them. Seeing them happy, was the most important thing to her. However brief it was, it always made her worry less for them and the damage the pressure on them might cause, when they acted like children. Though he was embarrassed a little now, he was in his own way happy too. Acting his age.

"How is he doing."

Loki didn't look up at her as he answered, he was too busy stroking Fenrir behind his head, the way he liked. Despite that she could tell that he was no longer trying to avoid looking at her. He was simply enjoying having his friend back after worrying about him for so long. She herself was relieved to see the Hel-Wolf back safe and well. He had worked his way into her heart, in same way that his master had many years ago.

"Well, though I think he is still tired."

"You would not know it to look at him."

As she spoke she moved into her Son's chambers and bent down to get a better look at Fenrir. It was true he did not show any out ward sign that he was in any pain or discomfort. If you looked into his eyes, you could see the tell-tell sign of a few nights without sleep. This was the only indicator of what he had recently been through, and that after a few good night's sleep would too leave. His tail was wagging very quickly the biggest sign that he would suffer no lasting damage from his ordeal. She hated to ruin the content moment, but she could put if off any longer.

"Your Father wishes to speak to you."

The hand that she placed on his should as she spoke did little to comfort him. His body tensed up and he took in a deep breath. He was too smart for his own good after all. He had a very good idea of what his Father wanted to talk to him about. At least he was fairly sure he knew, unless his Father had learned of something else that he had tried to keep from him, he was going to want to talk about Fenrir. When he had agreed to let him stay it was under the condition that he would not cause any trouble and he would not sleep in the palace as he grew. A fully grown Hel-Wolf was not the kind of creature that you could keep in a domestic setting.

"I'm sure it will not be as bad as you think. He is a reasonable man….."

"But you don't know that for sure."

He truly was too smart for his own good. Thor would take her reassurance without question. Loki never seemed to accept things at face value. He questioned too much. She worried what this would mean for his future. There were something's that he should not push, things that he should leave alone. Knowing Loki as well as she did she knew that was not likely to be the case. That was why she had to make sure that something's were kept from him at all costs. For his own good.

"No, you're right. I don't know that for sure. I do know your Father very well however. He will listen to you. I also know you. You have a way with words. Use that for good for once."

He smiled a little at this, but did his best to hide it. Pulling him into a half embrace by wrapping her arm around his shoulder. Before he had a chance to pull away, embarrassed by his Mother's showing her affection, even if there was no one else to see it, she gave him a quick kiss to the top of his head. He gently but forcefully pushed her off of him and pulled himself up. There was no point in putting it off any longer.

Eir managed to sneak into her house without her Father noticing. After that the day went the same as most. She didn't see Loki, but that was becoming normal, not that she liked it. During her training she did not speak to Sif. Who in turn did not say anything to her. Luckily her Father had chosen today to supervise her training. He watched from the side-lines offering advice to each of them as the spare went on. Once it was done, ending in a draw or very close to one, Sif bowed to her Uncle and left. Eir was give some encouragement by her Father on her progress before he too left to return to his normal daily work. Feeling a like annoyed at being left by herself to return the weapons back to the racks, Eir went about her task with a slight attitude. Handling the weapon with more force than was needed.

Once she was finished with her unwanted task she choose to make her way to the palace hoping to find Loki sitting at their normal window-seat, so she could hear and hopefully see how Fenrir was getting on. As always the path to the library was mostly empty. Not many people took the time to read unless they were forced to. She could not understand that, but then again she was always a little different or a lot different. The air in the library was stuffy, the sun poured in through the large window, that did not seem to open without a great deal of force. Most of the time it was not worth the effort in the end.

She let out a small sigh as she caught sight of Loki sitting where she had hoped to find him. There was no sign of Fenrir. That did not overly worry her. He normally didn't like to be stuck in the same place for too long. He most likely had been her before and then gone off on his own. She was a little surprised that Loki had let him after having lost him before. He was most likely not to fair away then.

"Where's Fenrir."

She asked in a quickly breath. Hoping to establish a clear line of conversation quickly, as not have any time to think over any resent embarrassing events. He didn't look up at her. His whole attention was directed to the book he was holing in his hand. From her position she could not see what it was about, but she doubted it was engrossing enough to have captured his full attention. Not much ever held his full attention.

"Loki."

She pressed, but he still did not look up at her. She was about to say his name again, in a much more aggressive tone, but before she could a book was all but thrown in her face. Luckily she was quick enough to catch it before it did hit her. This time her tone when saying his name was going to come out very angry, but again she did not get the chance.

"Are you going to sit or not." He now finally looked up at her. "That is why you are here."

"Loki…."

"If you don't want to sit and read then you are more than welcome to stand there and stare at me… I personally think reading would be more entertaining."

Realising she was not going to get any further with him unless he wanted to say more, she let out a faint sigh. Taking this as a sign that she was going to finally stop trying to talk to him and sit down he swung his stretched out legs that covered most of the window-seat onto the ground. Giving her space to sit down across from him, pressed against the window like normal. A little reluctantly she slid into her normal place. Once she was sitting down she finally looked at the book that she had been given. Looking up over the top of it she gave Loki an unimpressed look. He did not seem to notice so she aggressively opened the book on sword fighting techniques and began to read.

In comfortable silence they read for about a half an hour. While they read there book, Loki changing to a new one after Eir had been there for about ten minutes, it was clear that neither of them were all that interested in what they were reading. Finally Eir had had enough of this. She wanted answers. It was going to be hard for her to get something out of Loki when he didn't want to say anything, but she could be stubborn as well.

"Talk to me."

Her voice this time was gentle. Her straight forward approach had not words out well. He had but up a wall on the matter as he always did when he did not to talk about or deal about something. It was not an exact science getting him to talk when he did not want to. It was hard to know what approach was going to work on him if any would, at any given time. She had her Father and most people close to her worked out almost perfectly. They very rarely could surprise her. Loki on the other had did surprise her the majority of the time. It was one of the main reason that she enjoyed his company. It was also the main reason she would find herself frustrated with him. Hopefully this gentle approach would get better results.

"There is nothing to talk about."

"That is not true."

Closing his book with a loud thud he locked his eyes on to hers. For a brief second she had wanted to turn away from the harsh stare, but she held her own, did not back down and met his eyes.

"He is gone."

A number of thoughts, possibilities for exactly what he was saying ran through her head, but the only thing that she acted on, was he desire to offer some comfort. Letting her book drop loudly to the floor, she slide forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was not a very comfortable position for her, but she did not pull away. She hugged him, but he did not lift his arms to return the hug. Though he did tilt his head a little so it was right next to hers.

"This is not necessary." He finally said.

Slowly she pulled away, leaving her hands on his shoulder. "I think it is."

"I can assure you that it is not." Eir did not say anything, but her eyes clearly asked him to say more. "He is alive and well. He simply no longer lives in Asgard. He had returned home….."

"This is his home."

"Not according to the All-Father."

Her next comment she bite back. It was not helpful to the situation. "I will miss him." She said instead.

It was clear that Loki too bite back what he was going to say next. Instead he said nothing. Eir left her body relax and she moved back into her previous position. "It is okay to admit that you will miss him too…."

"Why are you still going on about this!"

Eir had heard him yell before, but it had never been in such close proximity before. He had also never yelled directly at her before. It was a little freighting how suddenly it came over him. While the initial rage left him just as suddenly as it had come over him, there was still a clear mark of it left in his wide eyes. Making her move as far back, away from him as she could.

"There is nothing to say. He used to live here, now he does not. He still lives. I fail to see what is so significant about this chance."

"Loki." She said with clear pain in her voice.

Not able to stand her pity any longer he dropped the book that lay in his lap to the floor and stood up. He quickly left the library. Her breath became hard to catch. She had not realised that she had held her breath as he stood up to leave, not sure what he was going to do. She could actually feel her hands shanking a little. Not trusting the rest of her body either she remained sitting while her heart stopped racing. It all felt wrong. She should not feel scared of her friend, but she did, at least a little. She knew he would not hurt her. He would in his own way apologise the next time he saw her. Which would be after a few days she was sure.

When she felt herself calmed down a little, she stood up and left the library. This time she was not going to be the one to clean up after she had been left alone. Anger began to rise within her as she slowly made her way home. Not just at Loki, at the All-Father, Sif and even the All-Mother. It was not fair that Fenrir had been sent away. He was not used to having to fully fend for himself. He could be hurt or worse. Not far from her house she caught sight of something that made her anger rise.

"Sif!"

Her Cousin had her back to her, talking to Thor and Fandral. Once she heard her name being called she turned around. Before she had a chance to say anything in reply a strong forced knocked her off her feet. She skidded a little on the grass for a foot or so before she stopped.

"You selfish….."

She could not say anymore as Fandral quickly moved to her side wrapping his arms around her waist to stop her from moving closer to Sif. Who was being helped up by Thor. Fandral moved one of his hands to trap Eir's against herself, so she could not lift her hand to attack again.

"Couldn't think of anyone, anything else but yourself for a second….."

"What is this about." Thor boomed as loud as he could. It had no effect on Eir. How still locked daggers at Sif, who could not say a word.

"If you had stopped for a second to make sure that he didn't go into the woods then he would not have been hurt. Now he has been sent away….and it is all your fault."

None of the three warriors in training had seen or heard Eir angry before. They did not know what to do. Sif could not speak and Thor who knew what she was referring too, could not honestly say that she was not in some way correct. Fandral was having a hard time holding her in place. For such a slight girl, she was stronger than she looked.

"Aren't you going to say anything." Her voice was a little lower now, more under control so Fandral lessened his hold on her. Believing that she was no longer a threat to Sif's life.

When it was clear that she was not going to say anything in her defence, she was still so shocked to formulate any coherent sentence of words. Eir shook her head, sneering at her Cousin.

"I didn't think so."

Pulling herself free from Fandral she walked away and continued towards her home.

"It was a Hel-Wolf. It does not belong here. Why should I care what happens to it."

Sif seemed to have found her voice finally. Anger and humiliation were taking over, making her lash out to. Eir know this, that her Cousin was not as uncaring as she currently sounded. She could still not turn to look at her however. When it was clear that she would get no reply, Sif fixed her golden hair that had come lose from her pony-tail and quickly turned to walk away as-well.

Once Eir had calmed down she knew that she should be embarrassed about what she had just done. Yelling and scream like she did, using her magic against someone without warning. For the moment through she could not help the smug grin from crossing her face. A grin that was matched by someone that had heard her yelling and come to see what was going on. Then watched a little proudly as she yelled and verbally lashed out at her Cousin. Loki like his Brother and Eir blamed Sif, maybe rather unfairly for what had happened to Fenrir. If she had not been spitefully and let him to wonder off, even told someone that she had seen him in the woods alone, they he would be here still. She had to pay for that. Unlike Eir he was going to be less direct about it, but more dramatic.

The morning Eir went about her normal routine in silence. This was not a totally uncommon occurrence so her Father did not question it. She had been a little quitter recently, but he put that down to her training. Once they after a walk in silence and reached the training grounds he bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. This was not something that he did very often now that she was getting old. A part of him told him that right now his Daughter needed a little affection. Not wanting to press her he quickly left to go about his work. With a sigh she made her way to the training grounds to meet Sif.

A number of possibilities for how Sif was going to act ran through her head, but she did not let herself dwell too much on any of them. She honestly did not care. She became a little more concerned about the matter when she reached the smaller training grounds that she used and did not see Sif. She was normally there first. Their instructor whose name she could never pull to mind looked a little relieved that she was there, at least one of them was.

"You wouldn't happen to know where your Cousin is would you."

Eir shook her head. He sighed a little and told her wait here for him while he went to see what had happened. The second he left she sat down on a bench and looked up to the sky. It was a warm sunny day with few clouds in the sky. It was childless, but she was bored. She saw a cloud shaped like a star a little and one that looked like an arrow. After about ten minutes she let herself think about why Sif had not turned up. It didn't seem likely that she would be embarrassed or even scared to face her. She clearly did not see that she had done anything wrong and maybe she herself had over reacted a little.

Another ten minutes later the instructor return. He looked a little nervous. Eir found her stomach starting to churn. Nothing too bad could have happened, could it. As he explained why Sif would not be here she felt more relived that she wanted to admit. A part of her did want to at least smile a little, but she held it back. Now free for the day she made her way to the only person she knew could tell her what had really happened.

He sat in the same place he had the day before, the same place eh did most days. His back was to her, but he seemed to know she was there, even though she walked with small quite steps.

"Hair dose grow back, in time."

The smile threatened to cross her face. Sif's long golden blond hair was the feature she was most proud off. Instead of smiling she nodded.

"True…but what about the colour."

"One can do wonders with magic these days."

That was it, she finally let out a small laugh. As she made to take up her normal seat she looked him in the eyes. A felling of guilty crept over her, matching the hint of guilt in his eyes. Sif most definitely had not and wound not see the humour or karmic nature of what had happened.

Again thank you for reading. I really hope that you liked it. This was one of the hardest chapters to write, because I really didn't as I have said before, want to make either Loki or Sif out to be a bad person. They are not perfect, no one is and they get what is coming to them as a result. So I hope that it came out okay. As always all in-put, ideas for the story are very welcome. I promise again that I will up-date sooner next time.