Frigga spread out her fingers, taking in the cold, smooth feel of gold. It helped soothe the hard knot of worry in her stomach, if only a little. She sighed and and opened her eyes to the massive throne room of Asgard, entirely empty save herself, a few guards and her husband, seated regaly upon his throne. As of yet he was unaware of her presence in the wings. Frigga removed her hand from the pillar beside her and gathered herself together. Head up. Shoulders back. Steps even and measured. She was a queen and she would act it whether she was half mad with worry inside or not.

Quietly she climbed the steps to the dais and approached Odin. In the brief moments before he noticed her she took him in. He looked weary... weary and tense with barely controlled rage. It seemed Thor and Loki would not pay lightly for their little joke.

"Little joke" doesn't cover it. She thought bitterly. Nights of sleepless worry and days of paranoid distraction and were not summed up in "little joke".

Odin must have heard her footsteps, light though they were, for he turned to looked at her and they briefly exchanged worried looks. Frigga quietly took up her place a little to the right and a little below the throne and stood there, waiting.

A few moments later a cold, hollow, boom resounded throughout the hall and at the far end of the chamber the doors opened. At that distance Frigga could only just make out two figures approaching. But gradually, as they grew closer, she was able to recognize them as the battered and bloodied but healthy forms of her sons. She pursed her lips and resisted the urge to run forward and either smack them both or embrace them, she wasn't sure which would bring her more satisfaction.

When Loki and Thor had reached the dais they knelt, hands on chest, and waited. Frigga noted how tense they both were, their muscles taught under their armour, their backs unnaturally rigid, the veins protruding in their necks. Good, at least they know what they've done. She thought. It was the smallest of satisfactions after all the pain she'd been through these past five days but it did calm her just a bit.

Odin said nothing for a long time and when he did speak it was a single word, hard edged and unforgiving, "Explain."

For several long moments he went unanswered; neither boy dared lift his head to respond. Frigga was even beginning to think they wouldn't bother to answer at all (which would have been very unwise) when, not Thor, but Loki, raised his voice and said hoarsely, "Father, we never meant for things to turn out badly."

He paused, obviously waiting for an answer. Odin stared stonily at him. Loki fidgeted and glanced at Thor but received no aid; the elder brother kept his head his head down and generally tried not to draw attention to himself. Next Loki glanced at Frigga herself. She glared down at him, doing her best to say, "Well?" through only her expression.

Loki seemed to realize he had to go on now, no one was about to save him. He squared his shoulders, fixed his eyes on a point somewhere straight ahead of him, and said, almost robotically, "A few days ago I was at the library when a page approached me. He told me Thor was calling a meeting in the stables and bid me go there immediately…" he continued on to speak of Thor's proposition, of the strife that arose from it, and the eventual journey that resulted from it. Frigga had to purse her lips from pure embarrassment at this point. How could her children be so stupid? Loki went on, relating entering the forest and the day's journey. Then of passing out as they rode through a grove of white trees and re-awakening the next day on a couch, watched by a young girl, pale as freshly fallen snow.

At this all Frigga's anger drained away to be replaced by alarm. Who had taken her children captive? This was not right… the forest should have been filled with monsters and bandits, not this… She snuck a glance at Odin and could tell by the lines of his mouth that this news boded ill with him as much as herself.

Loki went on to tell of his interrogation, of his stay in that house, of Nerdanel's visit, of the underground battle of wills with that same girl, of turning down the White Lady's deal, of Nerdanel defeating her, of burning the manor, of escaping, of being found by Odin's soldiers the very next day and being practically hauled back to Asgard. "And that's where it ends. We've only just arrived and been separated from the others. But father," for the first time since he'd started his tale some expression came to his face and he looked up, meeting Odin's eyes, "who was she?"

Odin did not answer for many long moments and Frigga even began to think he might not respond at all. But at last he did speak, evenly, but with anger buried just under the surface of his voice, "If I am correct she was called Douletae in her youth; a powerful sorceress gone corrupt. She fled into the forest soon after I placed a ban on sorcery… she is dangerous, you are both fortunate to be still be operating under free will."

There was far more to the story than that. Indeed Frigga knew that the "spell" she had tried to put on her sons was more significant than either of the could imagine. But there was no need to tell them that.

Odin turned to Thor, "I would also have my eldest son give some explanation of his stupidity."

Thor looked up and said without meeting his father's eyes, "I thought to win glory for myself and comrades."

Odin was yelling now, his powerful voice echoing around the room even after he had finished speaking,"And why would any son of mine feel need for that!"

Thor tensed and said nothing.

"You are princes of Asgard. Both of you! More glory than that of a thousand lords combined is already yours and yet… You seek out more at risk to the lives of your friends and fellow warriors!" he paused and said to himself, but still loud enough for all three of them to hear, "I had thought to name my heir at his next birthday but what man can choose pass on his property at all with such a fool on his right hand and..." he paused and his eyes drifted to Loki not with disdain but contemplation. Frigga saw her second born watching Odin intently and hoped Loki did not dwell on this over much. But she knew from his expression that it was impossible; already a glimmer of hope shone in his eye. He was thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, now Thor had fallen from Odin's graces, he might be considered worthy to inherit the throne. And Frigga's heart cracked at the thought of what might happen if he was proven wrong.

Odin tore his eyes from Loki and said loud and quick with a tone of authority, "Thor, you have disgraced yourself and your family with your idiotic actions which needlessly endangered the lives of all your men. You are hereby banned from any outside contact including your mother and brother. You shall have private tutors and be confined to the isolation of your chambers and you are not to hold another weapon until I deem fit."

Thor glowered dangerously up at his father but was smart enough to refrain from argument.

Odin rounded on Loki and opened his mouth to speak but then stopped himself, seeming to contemplate his sentence. When he spoke it was slowly, thoughtfully, "Loki, you have willingly followed your brother into what you knew was a dangerous situation and made no argument. But you acted honorably and intelligently from then on, saving the lives of the entire group multiple times." he paused as if trying to gather his thoughts together, "You are banned from any weapons training and from leaving the citadel, even to enter the the grounds. But…" his voice seemed to soften, "that is all."

Loki nodded and bowed his head but before he did Frigga caught a spark of pride in his eyes.

Odin pounded his staff against the floor. "Leave."

Thor and Loki each bowed and stood. Frigga watched them go with a heavy heart and as the great doors closed behind them she said quietly, still gazing after them, "How long will you keep Thor under house arrest?"

"As long as it takes. He is overly rash, I cannot allow him to rise to the throne with such attributes."

"And what of Loki? He will be hungry for the crown now you have given him hope like that." she turned to face him, "Will you truly consider him despite his heritage?"

Odin met her eyes, "I do not know. The people will be more accepting of Thor but Loki may yet make a wiser king. We shall see how it plays out."

Frigga pursed her lips, "I still wish you had been honest with him."

"It was my decision."

"I am his mother."

"And I am not only his father but king of this realm. Respect my decision, Frigga, for good or ill."

She bowed her head in respect, "Very well. But I think the latter more likely."

No answer.

She tried again and was again met with silence.

She was not at all surprised. Every day for the past three days she had done just this and every day received either a very curt reply or none at all. Loki had visited her in the healing wards after they had returned, assured himself of her health, and then vanished. When she returned to everyday life he had disappeared into his chambers and Frigga would only tell her that he was studying and did not wish to be disturbed. But Nera didn't care. Loki was isolating himself and that meant he needed company more than ever. She would not allow him to slip away into seclusion.

She knocked once more and this time she heard low voices on the other side before the door swung inward a crack and a man servant of about seventeen stuck his head out, "The prince does not wish to-"

Nerdanel pushed past him and into the suite, cutting him off. She dashed into the sitting room before she could be stopped and there found Loki with his books spread out across the room, pacing back and forth as he read aloud to himself from a tome. The manservant receded into the shadows.

Loki looked up, saw Nera, and visibly darkened, "You shouldn't be here. There's actually a reason I wasn't letting you in."

"Which is?"

Loki closed the book and sat down at a table, slamming the volume into its surface, "I'm studying. I can't… explore the grounds or go riding anymore." He looked down at one of the textbooks before him and pretended to read.

"And can't you even have the courtesy to tell me that in person?" Nerdanel leaned over the table and slid the book away from him. He looked up angrily and she met his eyes, "No one just disappears into their room to study. What's going on? And don't lie to me."

"You are no one to order me about as a superior! You often forget that I am a prince and you a stranger in this realm!"

"Tell me," Nera said softly.

Loki softened a little, "Just go. It doesn't matter, I need to study."

Nerdanel sat down saying, "Then let me help you study."

Loki eyed her, "Why?"

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Why would you do that without even knowing the reason I'm learning all this?" he gestured vaguely at the room which was littered with tomes of every shape and size.

"It's not good for you to be isolated. You need company to keep you from going dangerous places; I can see that regardless of whether I know why you're studying," she answered without hesitation, "And I would be lonely"

Loki shrugged, "As you wish."

She broke into an instant smile, "Good! What were you learning now?"

From then on she helped him gain expertise in nearly every area. He devoured everything: languages, mathematics, history, magic, literature. His tutor still visited regularly and thought Loki to be progressing normally. But in addition to that he spent every waking hour working. Nera wasn't always there- she still had places to go and classes of her own- but when she could she was there: quizzing him, organizing papers, getting whatever volumes he needed from the library. Perhaps he could have had a servant do all that but Nera wanted to keep an eye on him. She didn't trust Loki to make healthy decisions. He was too unbalanced, too prone to brooding.

And as the weeks slipped by she began to understand why he had suddenly thrown himself into his studies: he had finally realized his value. All through their adventure in the forest it had been Loki making the right decisions, not Thor. Loki saving everyone, not Thor. And that seemed to have sparked an ambition within him. No longer was he treading in Thor's footsteps, fighting precisely as he did, learning the things he learned. He was branching out, experimenting with different weapons, focusing on academics more, honing his skills as a magician with the help of Frigga. She was happy for him but it seemed there was another motivation lying just beneath the surface. Not just the will to surpass Thor but…

And for a long while Nerdanel was unable to finish that sentence. Until one day at a feast she noticed that as Odin passed Loki stood up straighter, pushed out his chest and watched his father carefully. Of course she thought to herself, he wishes to impress Odin. And, more than that it seemed, he wanted to at least give Thor a run for his money when Odin named his heir. He did not wish to be overlooked immediately as he had been so often in the past.

Nera wished him luck. But at the same time she feared what would happen if Loki failed.

My dear readers: thank you so much for waiting! I have had a thoroughly exhausting semester and have been unable to write as much as I would like. But I'm always thinking of this fic and I'm always thinking of Loki and Nera.

Also thank you to those who reviewed! It means a lot to me, truly :) I received a few questions so I'll answer them now.

jesdegroot: Not telling :) Actually I'm deliberately keeping you guessing so you'll just have to wait and see.

Southern Girl: Yes, this fic will go through the events of Thor. Loki and Nera fit into the events of that film but you'll have to wait and see how :)

Anyway I hope you enjoyed! There will be another time jump next chapter (sorry to do that to you) and we'll be moving forward with the plot, starting two years from now. Thanks for reading and please review. :)