A few days had passed since Frigga's funeral. Things had calmed down after the funeral, and the workers were back to their usual routines. Hermione had noticed that despite how calm things were, everyone was still in a mood, which wasn't that surprising. It wasn't easy getting over someone like Frigga. The queen had always been so kind and generous. She was never cruel to anyone. Plus, she had saved Hermione from Nolan and had talked to her about whether or not he was a problem. With Frigga no longer around, who would protect her from Nolan's advances? If he ever tried anything again, that is. Of course, Loki would probably do something, but she worried that Loki would do something horrible to him. Frigga would have been calm about it, whereas Loki would probably kill Nolan the next time he came near Hermione.

Hermione could tell that Odin wasn't letting go of Frigga's death. He was determined to figure out who let the Dark Elves into the castle on Christmas Eve night. Hermione knew that once Odin discovered the identity of the traitor(assuming the person who let them in was from Asgard), they would pay for what they had done.

Hermione was curious about who had let the elves in as well, but she also dreaded finding out. She didn't know whether or not to feel bad for the person if they were caught. Yeah, they had committed a crime, but they would possibly lose their life because of it. Whoever had done it was in a lot of trouble. Hermione could only imagine what would happen to the person when they were caught.

Hermione had needed a way of relaxing after the funeral. She found herself losing focus quite often and just needed a way to calm herself down. In the past, Hermione had taken to yoga. It had helped her a lot, but she stopped after awhile. She had always found herself too busy to get back into it, but with things calming down after everything that happened, Hermione found herself picking back up where she left off. She had conjured a yoga mat and was currently in tree position. Her feet were bare, which made it easier for her to not slip on the mat. Hermione's eyes were closed as she took a breath, focusing all her energy on not falling over.

It had been a really long time since she had done yoga, and she hadn't gotten any practice in, so it was hard for her to keep her balance. Nevertheless, she tried her hardest to stay up straight. She found that taking deep, steady breaths helped to keep her up right.

Hermione left her door open ajar, allowing the scent of the candle she had lit to creep into the hallway.

The scent of the candle had come into Loki's room from the hallway and he couldn't ignore it. He silently opened his door, following the scent to the room right next door. His door shut quietly behind him as he peeked into Hermione's room. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her, confused by what she was doing. He raised his fist, knocking on the door.

Hermione's eyes opened. "Yes?" She said. She could see that it was Loki through the crack in the door. Loki stepped into the room, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. Hermione got back into position, her eyes closing once again. "Yoga," she replied before taking another deep breath. That didn't help Loki at all. "What is this 'yoga' you speak of?" Loki asked, his eyes fixed on her. Yoga was not something Loki had ever heard of or seen. Watching Hermione only confused him.

"It's something I do to relax. I'm in a state of healing. Yoga helps me to stay focused and calm down. Things have been crazy lately and I just need something to take my mind off of what all has happened," Hermione replied. She stopped posing and took a deep breath before stretching. Loki watched her. Hermione noticed and turned to look at him. "If you want, I can teach you. It might help to relieve your stress after everything that's happened."

Loki scoffed. "Stress. What stress?" Hermione looked at him knowingly. "Don't even act like you aren't. I can tell that you have a lot on your mind right now. Yoga might be able to help you. Give it a try?"

Loki huffed before giving in. Hermione grabbed her wand and made another yoga mat appear. She looked at Loki, pointing her wand at him and using a spell to put him into something more appropriate for yoga. Loki crossed his arms. "You had to do that?" He asked.

Hermione put her wand on her bed, not looking at him as she spoke. "You can't do yoga in your armor, Loki. It would be extremely uncomfortable, and yoga is not meant to be uncomfortable." She turned to look at him, hands on her hips. Loki raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more. With Loki silent, Hermione knew the conversation was over and stepped onto her yoga mat. "The first thing you want to do before you do yoga is stretch. If you don't, you could really hurt yourself."

Hermione began stretching, Loki watching her. He attempted to follow her movements, but Hermione was far more flexible than he was, meaning she could do more complicated stretches. "How am I supposed to match your movements when you can bend your body in strange ways?" Loki asked, his voice holding a tone of frustration. "You don't have to copy my movements, Loki. Just stretch... you do know how to stretch, right?"

"Of course, I know how to stretch," he snapped before doing so. Hermione watched him, placing her hands on her hips once again. "You're very grumpy today," Hermione said, beginning her stretches again. "Maybe yoga will help you more than I thought."

She thought she heard Loki growl, but she decided to just shake it off and continue stretching.

...

Awhile later, after they had finished their stretches, Hermione was teaching Loki the tree position, which she had been working on earlier. "How does pretending to be a tree help to calm one's mind?" Loki asked as Hermione stood close to him as support. He was having trouble keeping his balance, which was surprising given how stealthy Loki was.

"Shh. Try not to focus on ridiculous questions and focus more on actually doing the pose." Hermione's voice was gentle, very soothing. Loki couldn't help but listen. She was so calm, so collected. Loki admired her more than he thought he would. Even though he wouldn't admit it to her, he thought she was special. He was used to girls who were weak and not very bright, but Hermione was the complete opposite. She was fascinating to him. Her intelligence levels matched his own, which was something he had never encountered before. The fact that she made it out of a gruesome battle alive proved just how strong she really was.

Hermione felt Loki's eyes on her while she was demonstrating the pose. Her own eyes opened and she turned to look at him. "Yes?" She asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "What?" He wasn't aware that he had been staring at her. "You were staring," Hermione said.

"Was I? Sorry. I suppose I just have a lot on my mind. It's hard for me to stay focused." Loki did have a lot on his mind, but it was completely different from what had been on his mind before. In this moment, Hermione was the only thing Loki could think about. His mother's passing was completely wiped from his memory as he looked down at the witch.

"I know you do. Come on, try again." Loki sighed and attempted to do the position again. Hermione stood next to him, hands out to keep him balanced. "Keep your leg there," Hermione said. She tried her hardest not to laugh, but Loki could tell that she was struggling. "Oh, do you find something funny?" He asked, a smirk on his face. Hermione could hold back the laughter any longer. As Loki came towards her, a wicked grin on his face, Hermione backed away, still laughing. She knew he wouldn't hurt her.

With her back to the wall, he placed his hands on either side of Hermione's head, trapping her in. Hermione smiled up at him, her brown eyes filled with glee. Loki couldn't deny that her smile was beautiful... that she was beautiful.

Loki leaned down until his mouth was right next to her ear, his warm breath tickling the shell of her. "My wandering child, so brave and so beautiful." It had been awhile since Loki called her that. Hermione actually liked the nickname, even if she hated the reason she had gotten it. She couldn't hide the blush that appeared on her face at his words. "Come on, Loki," Hermione said, gently pushing him back and walking past him. "We need to focus."

Loki had never thought that he would feel this way for Hermione, but since the Nolan incident, he had found himself falling more in love with her every time he looked at her. He wasn't even falling, he had been pushed and crashed. Hell, he might as well have jumped. Loki's heart beat wildly against his chest just thinking about her. He couldn't help the smile that was on his face. Being around Hermione really had changed him.

"I think the stress is gone," Loki said, looking at her, that same smile on his face. "I don't think this is necessary anymore." Hermione crossed her arms. "Fine. If you don't think you need it, go back into your hole. I'll stay here and relax my mind." Hermione closed her eyes, moving into another position. Loki watched her intently. "I think your mind has enough relaxation to last you a lifetime, love. Perhaps you should allow your brain to rest." Loki took Hermione's hand in his, rubbing his thumb gently against her skin.

Hermione sighed, knowing he was right. Hermione had been at this since she woke up that morning and she was starting to feel a bit tired. She nodded her head before grabbing her wand and making all of the yoga stuff disappear.

Loki smiled at her. "I appreciate the help, Hermione. Your method of relaxation has calmed me very much." Hermione smiled at his words. "I'm glad."

Loki walked up to her, their bodies almost touching. He pressed his lips gently on her forehead, plating a soft kiss on the skin. "Get some rest, darling," Loki whispered before letting go of her hand and walking out of the room. Hermione watched him leave before shutting the door and laying down on her bed.

Perhaps getting some rest was exactly what Hermione needed.