A/N: Thank you again to all of my wonderful readers who have followed the story this far, and everyone that has taken the time to write a review. Our intrepid adventurers will be headed back to Asgard next chapter, so stay tuned for more bumps on the road to happiness.

Chapter 23

The next two weeks passed far more quickly than Loki would have liked. He and Eir spent hours together, their hands linked and their breathing synchronized as she showed him a whole new world of magic unlike any he'd ever dreamed of. He struggled with the magic more than he thought he should.

"Tell me how you think about your magic. What is your mindset when you weave a spell?" Eir asked him as they sat on the ground facing each other, their legs crossed, their knees touching, their fingers intertwined.

Loki considered her question for a moment. "I use magic to alter either perception or reality. I bend the world to my will."

Eir smiled and squeezed his hand. "That is why you struggle. Yggdrasil is sentient in her own way and she will resist any attempt to compel her."

"How is what you do different? I seem to recall a certain amount of compulsion with regard to the Casket."

"I ask. I invite. I open the door and lead the energy along the right path to effect the change. When I heal a wound, I ask the cells to regenerate, the bones and muscles to knit along a framework I provide. I show them the way. I am merely a guide, a steward of that power, not its master."

Loki shook his head. "No, that cannot be. Mother taught us both that we—"

From the small pack next to her, Eir pulled out a small kitchen knife and made a shallow slice across the base of her thumb. The blood welled up slowly as Loki took the blade from her quickly and tossed it aside, horrified that she had been harmed. She held her hand out to Loki. "Yes, you can force the blood vessels closed and stop the bleeding, but have you been able to close the wound, heal it so completely that no trace remains? Calm the pain? Regenerate the nerves?"

The discomfort on Loki's face at her injury was plain, but he shook his head. "No."

"Try it now." Eir offered her hand to him again as a small trickle of blood ran down her hand. Loki struggled for several minutes until she covered his hand with her unblemished one. "Let me in, Loki. Lower your shields completely and let me show you."

He had not realized he'd been still protecting the core of his magic, having done so for so many hundreds of years that it was an unconscious process. It took nearly a minute of focused thought to allow her fully past his defenses, but when he finally did, their magic bloomed, spreading through both of them until they literally glowed and pulsed with it. Loki felt her power entwine with his and the feeling was glorious, like floating in post-orgasmic bliss, he thought. Their energy flowed down through their hands and he could feel the nearly-effortless weave of her magic guiding the edges of the wound together, speeding cellular metabolism, division, regeneration. It was deliberately slower than he had seen her do before, even as a child, but he had never appreciated the intricacies and nuances of her spells until that moment. Where his magic was demanding and forceful, hers was gentle and persistent, though no less effective.

"That's it. Follow me," she said, her voice soft and reassuringly whispered in his ear. Their cheeks touched and Loki breathed in her scent as he closed his eyes and surrendered himself to the seductive pull of her magic until he was swept away completely by it. The only solid thing was the feel of Eir's arms wrapped around him, and his around her. "Open your eyes, Loki."

They were at the edge of the clearing, at least thirty feet back from where they began, which was startling enough in itself, but now, Loki could see the luminous tendrils of power that extended in every direction from the tree. "It is beautiful," he said as he stared in wonder.

Eir's voice was full of joy as she said, "Yes, she is." Her hands slid down his arms and she intertwined their fingers. "Now invite that beauty, that delicate power, to fill your soul. Open yourself to it. You can't compel her, but if she finds you worthy she will come to you."

Loki questioned Eir's anthropomorphic description of a genderless and non-sentient energy but he trusted her, so he did as she asked. Long minutes passed as he lowered his shields, the magical protections that he'd embraced since childhood, and an image of his mother, Frigga, came unbidden into his mind. It was a memory, but so vivid he felt like he could reach out and touch her.

"My darling Loki," she said with a warm smile, "come sit with me and I shall tell you a story."

In the vision, he was small again, barely up to Frigga's elbow when he climbed into her lap and leaned his head against her shoulder, letting her hold him. All of his worry evaporated in her arms. He forgot about his fight with Thor and how his father had laughed when Thor had pushed Loki into the mud and reached the garden gate first, claiming the reward of an hour of riding with Odin as he surveyed the outskirts of the city.

"Long ago, there was a universe before ours, full of light and magic and beauty beyond measure. But as all things are, it was doomed to die. Only through its death could new Realms be created and new life flourish. It has always been the way of things, just as the death of a mouse can grant life to a newly-hatched owl or a giant boar slain by a hunter's spear sustains our own lives. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I think so," Loki said thoughtfully, worrying that someday his own universe would end.

Frigga nodded and kissed the top of his head. "As the light of many suns failed and the universe slipped ever closer to darkness, a brave young giant named Buri fell in love and married a beautiful maiden called Urd. As Ragnarok approached, they alone sought to hold back the end of the Realms, fearing for the lives of their three daughters. Before Buri left his wife and children, he transferred to Urd his ability to shapeshift, and he rode out to try to keep his world from falling into Ginnungagap, the bottomless void, the abyss that threatened to claim the lives of everyone he held dear. Urd stayed behind, working her own magic to combine it with Buri's gift, in the great cave below their castle, seeking a refuge from the destruction as save her children."

"As it always has, the darkness swallowed all. Buri was defeated, frozen in the ice of Ginnungagap, and as his life energy surrentdered, his bondmate, Urd, felt his passing and let out a deafening cry. Then, ss her own life began to slip away, she still refused to surrender to the void. She embraced her three small daughters, changing herself into the seed of a great ash tree and leaving her daughters asleep within the deepest part of the seed. This allowed them to be held there, dormant as a seed through winter, until land once again rose from the waters after Ragnarok. They waited there for their rebirth just as their father did, buried in the ice in Nilfheim."

"You know the rest of the story, do you not? From Ginnungagap emerged Ymir, from whose body the Jotuns were spawned, but it was the great cow, Audhumla that uncovered Buri from the ice and restored his life. Buri searched high and low for his beloved Urd, but found no trace of her for many long years, eventually coming to the place where his castle had been, the place we know as Asgard, where his grief overwhelmed him. His tears fell in a flood upon the land where Urd and her children slept, filling the deep chasm to become the Well of Urd. Filled sith Buri's tears, filled with their despair and remembrance of his family, its magical waters nourished that seed, left behind so many years before. But Urd's life energy was utterly spent in creating the seed that protected her daughters, so she had no way to return to a physical body, and so she was trapped in the form of that great ash tree we call Yggdrasil. She searched for her Buri, sending her braches through all of the Realms and beyond, into every corner of the universe, seeking to rejoin her beloved in the only way remaining to her."

"Urd's daughters emerged from the lake surrounding the Well of Urd, having been saved by the love of their mother. The oldest took her mother's name out of respect. The other two are called Verdandi and Skald, and we know them now as the Norns. They tend the tree that is their mother and who showed them, as her last gift, that it is possible to have power over fate." Frigga tipped Loki's chin up so she could see his eyes. "So you see, Loki, a mother would do anything to see her children safe and happy, as I would do for you. I love you, my son."

Her smile instantly chased away all of Loki's fear and disappointment. His mother pressed his head against her shoulder as she held him tightly and the soothing green light of her magic engulfed him. It settled into his body and his soul as she opened the well of power that was her magic to her son.

As a tear rolled down Loki's cheek, he opened his eyes to look at Eir, finding her glowing with the interwoven strands of their green and purple magic, ebbing and flowing between them like the tide, with an utterly tranquil expression on her face, her eyes closed. Then he felt the light touch of another hand upon his shoulder. Eir must have as well, because they both turned their faces upward at the same time. Beside them stood a beautiful female giant with long, wavy translucent hair and surrounded by a radiant aura of light green that extended far enough to completely engulf them.

"As I watched over my own children, now do I watch over the children of many Realms. My reach is vast but my grasp is weak. I cannot lead armies or dissuade those who seek to bring about Ragnarok before its time. Only you, the two of you, can do what must be done. I give you my blessing and aid, for your path is perilous." She turned to Eir first. "Eir. My friend. My sister in spirit. You know you will be Queen of Asgard, but your King will not be your husband. Though do not worry, you will have love and children and happiness before your time ends." She smiled at Eir maternally, patted the smaller woman's shoulder briefly, and then turned her attention to Loki. "You have a far more difficult path, I am afraid. The Nine Realms will never again bear witness to King Loki, yet Asgard and all of her allies, will look to you with respect and honor in their hearts as you defend them from their enemies in war and nurture them in times of peace."

Loki shook his head. "But—"

She silenced him with a sad smile. "You know my story, so I am certain you understand that new life comes only from sacrifice and death. Only though death can you be reborn." She pressed her lips to the top of his head, and he felt her power surrounding him like a soft blanket. "And remember, child, not all lies are born of malevolence."

Before he could respond, she knelt and pulled him into her arms, surrounding him with her magic, melding it with his own until it filled him completely. He felt her voice within his mind, but it sounded more like his mother than Yggdrasil. "You will not be alone at the end. I will be here, waiting for you with open arms."

The energy of her spirit dissipated like fog burned away by the sun, leaving him alone with Eir in the silence of the clearing with tears in his eyes. For once, he did not feel embarrassed by them as Eir pulled him closer. Only she would not see his tears as weakness, he thought as she held him there, emotionally and physically exhausted.

He woke some time later with his head in Eir's lap as she stroked his forehead, occasionally allowing her fingers to lightly run through his hair. The sun filtered through the now-green leaves of the great tree, and he felt the gently humming connection that now existed between him and Yggdrasil, as well as his bond with Eir. While still unsure if he could move, he felt completely relaxed and at ease, seemingly granted a temporary reprieve from all of the guilt and regrets while the prophesy for his future seeming no more than a dream. He smiled languidly but kept his eyes closed, still too worn out to open them, while he tried to commit to memory this moment, this feeling, and every detail of the woman to whom he owed everything.

Sometime later, he heard her voice again. "Are you alright?" Eir asked him in a hushed voice, never ceasing her gentle caresses.

"Mmm hmm," he replied with a few small nods of his head.

"It's getting late, and Margunn will be worried about us. I told her we would return for dinner."

Loki opened his eyes to find that the sun had slipped beyond the horizon and only the last vestiges of color still painted the night sky. The first visible stars twinkled in their deep blue sea and everything was quiet except for the gentle wind through the leaves of that lonely ash tree. He didn't want to go. Ever. "Thank you for being here with me, Eir."

He thought he saw her swallow twice before answering. "It was my honor, Loki." She met his gaze only briefly before she looked away, the first signs of stress creasing the skin near her eyes.

"Ah, I see." He sat up with only a little help from Eir. "You worry over her words." Eir nodded. "Frigga has the gift of sight as well, you know."

"I know," said Eir.

Loki smiled reassuringly and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering there as his thumb brushed her cheek and his fingertips curled around to cradle the back of her neck. "She told me once, 'you cannot change how you live your life over a vision, no matter how dire or monumental it may seem. These things rarely come to pass in the manner you think or fear that they will, and to become obsessed with the future robs you of your chance to be happy in the present." He let that sink in, noticing how she made no move to pull away from his touch. Perhaps his mind deceived him, but he thought he felt her actually lean into his hand.

"Your mother is very wise," Eir said, finally reaching up to remove the hand from her face, but to Loki's surprise, she tentatively laced her fingers through his and helped him up into a standing position.

They walked like that, hand in hand, slowly back to the Inn, during which time Loki finally admitted to himself that he was not just attracted to Eir physically, and it was more than just mere gratitude or friendship. That intense pressure in his chest whenever he looked at her, whenever she smiled at him, that was love. He loved her. It felt liberating to admit. Whatever happened to him after this, whatever death awaited him, until such time as it came to pass, he wanted to do nothing more than spend every waking moment making her happy. It didn't matter that she would not love him back. He knew he had squandered his opportunity for that centuries ago, but that hardly seemed to matter, at least not until…

Loki stopped moving and stood stock-still on the path, gripping Eir's hand tightly. "What will happen to me… to us… when we return to Asgard?" It was the question he had been afraid to ask since the beginning.

"I… I don't know," she said, avoiding his gaze. "I could go alone to Asgard, and attempt to intercede on your behalf with Thor." She could try to make Loki's freedom a condition of acceptance of his proposal, even if it felt selfish and wrong somehow.

Loki sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No. But thank you. It wouldn't change anything, would it? We will still repair the Bifrost and await the will of the King, even if he is a witless imbecile."

Wisely, Eir held her tongue. A thousand years of envy and disappointment between the two would not be remedied by her words.

"My fate is more in your hands than his, I think," Loki said, drawing her hand upwards to place a strangely intimate kiss upon it while his deep blue eyes tried to tell her something more. "Is it not?" Her pulse pounded and her breathing became more shallow and rapid while her pupils dilated. Loki smiled. He would never get tired of eliciting that reaction from her as long as he lived. She did want him, he was certain of it, and the sooner they put this whole Bifrost problem behind them, the better. He wanted her back here on Midgard, where he could have a chance to court her, win her heart, and start his life over.