"No! absolutely not," Odin shouted at Frigga's request. "He will not be let out for any reason." Frigga tried to reason with her husband. "Odin, darling. Ms. Granger has agreed to attend the ball. At least, that's what your son has said." Frigga held her head up high as Odin looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Why does it matter? You and Thor may believe whatever you wish, but I know better." Frigga sighed as she took a seat next to him. "I don't understand, dear. Before Loki did all of these terrible things, you called him your son. You treated him like family. Now, you treat him as if he is worth nothing."

She knew in her heart that Odin didn't care for Loki, that Loki had just been Odin's idea of a truce emblem. Odin was quick to say something. "What he did is unacceptable. I will not have his actions come back to me." This made Frigga very upset. "And what of the thingS Thor has done? He has made mistakes, too, and not once have you ever turned your back on him as you have Loki." At hearing this, Odin stood up abruptly, his voice loud and clear. "I WILL NOT HAVE A FROST GIANT FOR A SON!" Frigga looked at Odin with gritted teeth. "And you will no longer have me as a wife." Frigga turned and walked out of the room, leaving odin alone. None of the guards said anything, but simply glanced at each other before pretending like nothing had happened.

...

Hermione was back in the library, walking around with a piece of paper in her hand and a quill in the other. She was making a list of the books that seemed the most interesting to her. Despite her love for knowledge, there were still some things she found more interesting than others. So far on her list, she had The History of Asgardian Rulers, Asgardian Arts, The Lost temples of the Nine Realms, The Nine Realms 101, and Creating the Nine Realms. These were the ones that had drawn Hermione's attention the most. Not much had gone on the last few days. it had been pretty quiet lately, which Hermione honestly didn't mind. Hermione had managed to finish all of the Midgardian Mythology books. She had gained so much knowledge from those books, but now her head hurt just a little from all that she had learned.

She was writing down the name of another book when she heard someone enter the library. She finished writing the title of the book before raising her head to see who had come in. That guard from before bowed his head in acknowledgment, a smile on his face. "Good afternoon, Ms. Granger. It's a lovely day isn't it?" Hermione walked down the the few steps that were nearby until she was on the ground floor of the library. "I suppose it is," she said. The guard smiled at her. "I'm Nolan, by the way," the guard said. Hermione never let the smile on her face disappear. "Nolan. That's a nice name."

"Thank you. I'm off duty at the moment. I was wondering if you would like to walk with me," he said. Hermione thought for a few seconds. "Sure. Why not? I just have to drop these things off at my room." Nolan nodded. "Of course. I'll walk you there." The two walked out of the library and down to Hermione's room. Hermione opened the door and put her stuff down on the table in the room before walking out and closing the door behind her. The two walked through the halls and out to the gardens.

"So, how are you liking Asgard?" Nolan asked once they got outside. "it's beautiful," Hermione replied. "Everyone here has been so nice to me." Well, no everyone. Hermione wasn't going to mention Loki to anyone. She didn't want anyone to know that Loki had been conversing with her through her mind. It wasn't that she enjoyed him talking to her in her head, but she didn't want him to have the satisfaction of letting him know that it bothered her.

"I agree. I've noticed that things have been a lot more peaceful since you arrived, especially with Loki," Nolan said. Hermione turned to look at him, eyes narrowed in confusion. "Loki?" Nolan nodded. "Yeah. I sometimes guard the dungeons. Loki isn't much of a handful anyway when he's in his cell, but he's seemed to be a lot more quiet now that you're here. I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it. The guy has always been strange, but things with him are getting weird now that you're around."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you think that is?" She asked. "Your guess is as good as mine," Nolan replied with a shrug. The two continued their walk. Things were going fine until Hermione felt the energy from Nolan change. The air seemed to grow colder around them. Nolan has stopped walking and turned to face Hermione, a smirk on his face. "You're such an interesting girl." He started stalking towards her, that same twisted look staying on his face. Hermione hadn't brought her wand with her, which she realized had been a mistake. She backed up until her back hit the wall of the palace. Nolan placed his arms on either side of her head, caging her in.

"Nolan, what are you doing?" Her voice was shaky and she hoped that he hadn't been able to tell that she was scared. He chuckled and leaned in. "You're shaking. Are you afraid?" He asked as he twirled a piece of Hermione's hair between his fingers. "Ms. Granger?" Both heads turned to see Frigga. Nolan immediately straightened up. "What's going on?" She asked, approaching the two. "We were just talking about our love for books, weren't we, Ms. Granger?" Nolan turned to Hermione who was still slightly shaking. He stared at her with a look that said to play along or else. Hermione put a small smile on her face and nodded. "Yeah. We have very common tastes in books." Frigga just smiled. "That sounds lovely. Mr. Ferirson, I need to speak to Ms. Granger. Please excuse us." Frigga took Hermione's hand, gently pulling her along. Nolan bowed his head. "Of course, your majesty." He watched as Frigga dragged Hermione away, a scowl on his face.

...

Odin was sat in his office, thinking about what Frigga had said. He loved his wife dearly, but her request was insane. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to believe that Hermione was their only hope to save Loki. He sighed and placed his index fingers at his temples, massaging them gently. He was still conflicted, but he knew that he had to do what was right. He had made his decision. Hopefully, Frigga would be thankful and forgive him for earlier. He just hoped that he wouldn't come to regret it.