Part II: The Tale Of Eir
Lady Eir, Goddess of Healing and Mercy, smiled as she walked swiftly along the corridors of the palace, searching for her betrothed and his brother.
Today would be the coronation of a new King, and all of Asgard was waiting, the entire golden city festooned in bright banners and silken pennants as the people celebrated this happy day.
The sleeves of her spring green gown swept the floor, the long trailing skirts floating in the wake of her passage, the long golden waves of her hair restrained only by the silver and diamond coronet she wore, long trailing chains of pure diamond falling from the circlet and into her curls, mingling with the golden mass.
She heard a low chuckle as she passed a curtain, and recognised it as her lover and future husband. As she slipped between the crimson drapes, she saw them together, tall and proud Princes of Asgard, as different as night and day.
The mighty Thor, golden and great, with his bear-like voice and stature, the great hammer Mjolnir by his side, his scarlet cloak draping his silver armour. Beside him stood Loki, his armour gleaming in burnished tones of gold and silver, the emerald cloak broadening his shoulders, his raven hair just jutting out from beneath his horned helmet. He was chuckling at the white-faced servant who recoiled from the snakes now slithering from Thor's goblet, and she rolled her eyes.
He could be such a child sometimes.
The servant dropped the platter and goblet with a shout, as Eir approached silently, eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Loki!" Thor whined. "Now that's just a waste of good wine."
"Oh, just a bit of fun," the younger Prince waved it off, with a devilish smile which never failed to set Eir's heart racing. Not that she would ever tell him that, of course. He was too smug as it was. "Right, my friend?" he asked the servant, vanishing the snakes with a wave of one elegant hand.
The servant nodded nervously, as Eir spoke. "Has my betrothed been misbehaving again?" she asked imperiously, making both Gods turn to her.
"No more than usual, dear sister," Thor chuckled, as Loki reached out to her and pulled her into his side. She and Loki were not wed yet, but Thor had called her 'sister' since they were children.
"I am the God of Mischief, love," Loki murmured into her ear, his warm breath sending shivers across her bared neck.
"Sometimes you take that title too seriously," she replied coolly. Loki rolled his eyes, as she continued. "Remind me, why am I marrying you again?"
"Because I am charming, debonair, a genius, talented, handsome. The list goes on," he retorted with a winning grin. Thor just snickered. "And you love me."
"Hmm, I am doomed," Eir sighed, leaning up to her lover, his lips meeting hers deeply for a moment before Thor groaned, and swatted his brother's shoulder with his paw like hand.
"Brother, please…" he moaned. "This is the day of my greatest triumph, and you're acting like two lovestruck dwarves."
As Loki leaned back, Eir thought she glimpsed a shadow pass over his face at his brother's words, but it was so swift she dismissed it as pure fancy. For all his envy, he was proud of his brother.
"You're just jealous, brother, that I am soon to wed the love of my life and you are still a lonely bachelor," Loki told him jokingly, making the God of Thunder guffaw. Eir decided to look affronted.
"You may keep your soon-to-be marital bliss, brother. I prefer my bachelorhood," he grinned, as Eir narrowed her eyes.
"Be very careful, Thor," she warned him, only half-jokingly. Loki chuckled.
"Remember, she is half Valkyrie," he reminded him, and Thor rolled his eyes before the levity passed, and his face grew solemn once more.
With a bow, the servant presented Thor with his helmet, Loki and Eir watching him as he eyed it almost contemplatively.
If Thor had been capable of contemplation, that is.
Realising Thor's need for his brother's company, she leaned up to press a kiss to her betrothed's lips one last time, disengaging from his arms with a smile.
"I must take my place. The Queen only sent me to make sure you're both ready," she told them softly, before turning and walking away, feeling her betrothed's eyes on her as she glided away.
"You are lucky, brother," Thor admitted quietly. "Just don't tell her I said that."
"You would never hear the end of it," Loki agreed.
Then Eir's voice drifted in, through the drapes, airy and teasing. "I heard that!"
On her way to the throne room, Eir passed Volstagg and Fandral, the former eying the platters of food servants bore past him lustily, and the latter preening in a mirror, surrounded by maidens.
"Eir!" the golden-haired warrior laughed. "How delightful you look! You should wear gowns more often!"
Volstagg took a double take, as Eir just rolled her eyes. "You in a dress…" he shook his head. "We must mark this momentous occasion. Now I really have seen everything!"
"Not quite. I haven't seen Sif in a dress for five hundred years," Fandral replied, making his entourage of ladies titter.
"Hush, you," Eir said, not unkindly. "I suspect that if my future mother-in-law has her way, they will become a permanent thing when in residence in the palace."
"But only in residence, eh?" Fandral's eyes twinkled, making Eir laugh. True, she was the Goddess of Mercy and Healing, but she was also half Valkyrie. Her warrior half was too strong to keep repressed, and she had accompanied the Warriors Three and Lady Sif on many an adventure with the royal brothers. "Now, would you like to polish my sword?" he asked hopefully, whipping out the already gleaming sabre, as Eir rolled her eyes at the innuendo.
"I think Loki might just turn you into a toad for a few centuries for that," she replied. "Besides, I'm not entirely sure it would be worth the effort."
Fandral clutched his heart as if wounded, while Eir endured glares from his admirers. "I am done for!" he cried dramatically. "My lady has hit me fatally."
"Luckily for you, else I might have been tempted by the toad idea," Loki's voice suddenly came from behind Eir, as she felt his hand snake around her waist, possessively. Fandral and Volstagg just grinned. "Now, I believe we must take our places."
And with that, they took their leave of their friends, emerging into the ever more crowded throne room, and taking their place on the steps of the dais, below Queen Frigga, glimmering in diamonds and golden silk, her flaxen hair pinned apart from one long, curling tress which trailed down her neck.
The Queen smiled gently at the sight of her youngest son and his future bride, a woman who had long been as dear as a daughter to her, the young beauty squeezing her betrothed's hand before clasping hers before her, the spring green folds of her gown flowing over the step below, the silver coronet and chains trailing over her hair shining in the light of the throne room.
Eir looked down at the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, joking and bantering, the latter clothed in her warrior's gear.
It was alright for some.
She glared at her friend and sparring partner as she took up her place on the step below her, and the Warrior Goddess eyed her, before smirking.
"Well, if you will marry into royalty," she breathed, making Eir growl.
"Oh, be quiet," the Goddess of Healing muttered. "And I could still change my mind."
"Don't you dare," a familiar growled voice whispered, letting her know her future husband had heard her exchange with Sif. She glanced up, and met his dark gaze, smirking innocently. His grin suddenly turned wicked, and a shiver ran down her back. "Or I rather think a punishment might be in order later," he continued quietly, sliding his hand down her arm and encircling her wrist, holding it gently, one long, clever finger caressing in downward strokes, until it slid into her palm and through the gap between two of her own digits. Eir sucked in a breath, catching Sif's amused eye.
"I can really see how torn you are," the warrior joked sarcastically, as Eir blushed, Loki chuckled, and the future Princess determinedly looked out at the crowd in defiance of the blush on her cheeks and the growing sense of anticipation welling in her stomach.
Suddenly, the trumpets sounded and the people cheered, as Loki's hand left hers to clasp behind his back, and she stood proudly as the All-Father ascended the dais to his throne, standing regally in his golden armour, Gungnir standing tall and mighty in his hand.
The trumpets rang again, the people began to cheer, as Thor appeared, mighty and strong in his silver armour and crimson cloak, smiling and laughing as he walked the long path to the dais, throwing the great hammer Mjolnir into the air laughingly, the lights of the sun and stars glinting off his winged helmet.
"Oh, please!" she heard Sif laugh below her, and she shook her head ruefully.
"If his head gets any bigger, that helmet might just crack open," she quipped, making both Asgardians either side of her chuckle. At last Thor reached the bottom of the dais, and knelt, but not before winking roguishly up at his mother and brother.
The All-Father rose to his feet, and smote the floor with Gungnir once, and silence fell.
"Thor Odinson, my heir…" he began, pride and strength echoing in every word. Eir felt Loki tense slightly beside her, and she knew he felt the sting of his father's words even if he hid it well. Wordlessly, she reached out, sliding her hand around his wrist, hidden by the drape of her sleeves and his cloak. Just as silently, he accepted her support, holding her hand tightly in his own as Odin continued. "My firstborn. So long entrusted with the mighty hammer, Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star. Its power has no equal, as a weapon to destroy or a tool to build. It is a fit companion for a King. I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms from the time of the Great Beginning. But the day has come for me to relinquish my throne and my duty to you, Thor Odinson."
The King paused, gathering his breath, while Thor waited on his knees, seemingly patient but Eir could see the coiled tension, the impatience to take the throne and his father's rule.
At last the King spoke again. "Do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?" he asked.
"I swear," Thor replied.
"And do you swear to preserve the peace?"
"I swear," Thor vowed, but Eir doubted it. Thor was a warrior, he needed war like he needed to breathe. Unease swirled inside her, but there was nothing she could do. Odin had chosen Thor as his successor, for better or worse, and she must abide by that decision. She loved Thor as a brother, but that didn't make her blind.
"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself only to the good of Asgar-"
"I swear!" Thor roared, thrusting Mjolnir high into the air.
"Then on this day, I Odin All-Father, proclaim you…" the All-Father paused, as the people waited, breath bated. Eir felt Loki tense beside her.
Something was wrong.
"The Frost Giants!" Odin breathed, as the crowd gasped and cried out, Thor rising to his feet, looking ready to rush off and destroy those creatures who had dared enter Asgard. But then Odin once more smote the floor with Gungnir, and everyone quietened.
His gaze turned inward, and he stood as a statue, while everyone waited. He did not quite relax, but his breath came deeper, and the people stilled. "The intruders have been eliminated. The Destroyer did its work," he pronounced. He looked to his sons. "Come!"
Wordlessly, the brothers followed their father, leaving the Queen, Eir, Sif and the Warriors Three behind.
The Coronation was postponed, and the people returned to their homes in the City, while Frigg, Eir, Sif and the others waited.
Although Eir wasn't about to pass up the chance to slip back into more comfortable attire. As she left the throne room, she caught Frigg's eye, and the Queen simply laughed and shook her head ruefully.
"I will transform you into a princess yet," she called warningly, as the others laughed. Eir just shook her head as she returned to her chambers.
She shed the heavy gown gratefully, conjuring away the coronet, slipping into her dark red warrior's leathers, slipping on the long grey, sleeveless, hooded robe which denoted her status as a healer, and braiding her hair back tightly.
Much better.
Just as Eir left her chambers, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three rounded the corner, and they beckoned to her gravely.
"We go to find Thor. There are rumours that he has quarrelled with the All-Father and the coronation is postponed," Sif told her, as the warrior-healer fell into step beside them.
It wasn't exactly difficult to locate Thor.
As they approached the Great Hall, they heard a roar and a great crash, and they hurried inside.
"Redecorating are we?" Sif asked sarcastically, as they entered to see one of the great long tables overturned, the feast that had been laid out covering the floor. Volstagg gasped in horror.
"What's this?" he asked.
"I told you they'd cancel it," Hogan pronounced grimly, as they approached the prince, where he had taken a seat on one of the long steps leading to the terrace.
"And we thought you were just being your normal cheery self," Fandral teased, making Eir roll her eyes.
"All this food…so innocent…just cast to the ground…breaks the heart," Volstagg continued to lament.
"I'm sure you will remedy that, Volstagg, soon enough," Eir quipped, as she continued towards Thor. Loki appeared from behind a pillar, clad now in his leathers instead of his formal armour. Eir stopped and waited.
If anyone could sooth his brother's temper, it was Loki.
She could feel the disappointment just rolling off of Thor, and sighed. He wasn't ready to be King, but she still felt for him.
"It is unwise to be in my company right now, brother," Thor growled, glaring at the overturned table.
"Who said I was wise?" Loki joked, although his face remained serious. His eyes rose to his betrothed, waiting pensively to the side in dark red leathers and her grey Healer's robe. Such a gaping contrast, of warrior and healer, strong and soft, violent and peaceful.
But then again, that was why he loved her.
"I see you escaped Mother long enough to change," he told her cockily, while she just shook her head, one fine brow rising as his gaze slid hungrily over her slender form.
"She will see me in silks and satins yet, and once your mother is determined…not even all the demons of Hel could be enough to stop her," she replied, drawing a grin from Loki and chuckles from the warriors behind her. But Thor remained brooding, as their smiles faded.
"This was to be my day of triumph," he snarled, caught in his own resentment and anger. Loki's attention snapped back to his brother.
"It will come in time," he murmured soothingly. But not even Loki's soothing voice could dissipate Thor's anger. He glanced at Eir, then turned back to his brother. "If it's any consolation, I think you're right. About the Frost Giants, about Laufey, about everything. If they found a way to penetrate Asgard's defences once, who's to say they won't try again, next time with an army…"
"Exactly!" Thor spat.
"…but there's nothing you can do without defying Father," Loki finished. Then he saw the look on his face at the same time as Eir.
"Yes. There is," he said, standing quickly. Loki's already pale face whitened.
"No, stop. I know that look, stop right there!" he said urgently, eying his brother piercingly.
"It's the only way to ensure the safety of our borders," Thor argued.
"Thor, it's madness," Loki protested.
"Would you be saying as much if they had harmed Eir? Or our family?" Thor demanded, making Loki freeze. Eir glared at Thor.
"They could try," she snapped. "But they would not succeed."
Sif and the Warriors Three were too far away to hear most of the siblings' and Eir's spat, but Volstagg heard some of it.
"Madness? What sort of madness?" he demanded, still gathering up breads and cheeses in his great hands.
"It's nothing. Thor was merely making a jest," Loki murmured, trying to diffuse the situation.
"The safety of our realm is no jest, brother," the God of Thunder replied tersely, before turning to his friends. "We're going to Jotunheim."
Eir's heart sank. This, THIS, was why Thor was not yet ready to be King. With gritted teeth, she looked pleadingly to Loki.
If anyone could persuade Thor against his quest, it was his brother.
But Loki simply sighed, and placed his head in his hand. Ignoring Thor, and Sif as the woman warrior began to argue, she went to her betrothed's side.
"Loki, please. You must stop this before he goes too far," she hissed. "You know what will happen if he goes to Jotunheim. War."
"I know," Loki replied. "But his mind is set. I cannot stop him, and in truth I am curious for answers. But the truce must not be violated…" he frowned, before reaching up and squeezing her hand. "I will think of something."
Thor's voice suddenly pierced their secret conversation, prompting Eir to turn and watch her future brother-in-law as he waxed poetical.
"My friends, have you forgotten all that we have done together?" he asked, then pointed to Fandral. "Who brought you into the sweet embrace of the most exotic maidens in all Yggdrasil?"
"Well, you helped a little," Fandral admitted, making Thor laugh and clap his shoulder.
"And, Hogan, who led you into the most glorious of battles?" Thor turned to the grim warrior next.
"You did," he grunted, with a slight quirk of the lips which was not quite a smile, but near enough.
"And to delicacies so succulent, you thought you had died and gone to Valhalla?" he finished, clapping Volstagg on the shoulder as the portly giant prepared a sandwich.
A dreamy look entered the red-haired warrior's eyes, as he grinned. "You did."
Thor turned to Sif, Loki and Eir, the latter stood beside her betrothed, eying him coolly.
"And who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could become one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?" he asked Sif, who narrowed her eyes pointedly.
"I did,"
"True, but I supported you, Sif. And Loki, Eir, whose superior powers of matchmaking finally saw you two hit the nail on the head and agree to wed?" he asked them, as Eir rolled her eyes and sighed.
"I wouldn't exactly call your powers of matchmaking 'superior', Thor," she retorted. "If I recall correctly, it involved spooking my horse so I fell and Loki caught me."
"It worked, didn't it?" Thor asked, innocently, making his brother and Eir sigh, fondly exasperated. "My friends, trust me on this!" he called, passing Eir to stand beside his still seated brother, gesturing to the two of them. "You're not going to let my brother and I take all the glory, are you?"
"What?" Loki breathed.
"You're coming with me, aren't you?" Thor replied, quietly. Eir watched the slow smile spread across Loki's face, and knew they were doomed. Brothers…
"Yes, of course," Loki vowed, standing tall and proud beside his brother. "I won't let my brother march into Jotunheim alone."
Eir groaned.
"And I!" Volstagg declared.
"And I," Fandral joined in.
"And I," Hogan added. "The Warriors Three fight together."
Thor looked to Sif and Eir, both stood tall and graceful as lilies in the Great Hall.
Eir sighed, ignoring the slight shake of Loki's head as she answered. "Well, you're going to need someone to sew you back together again after the Frost Giants are finished with you."
"I fear we will live to regret this," Sif capitulated, pressing her fist to her chest and bowing before turning away, the Warriors Three following suit. Eir turned and left the Hall to prepare, Loki's eyes following her all the way out.
She went to her chambers and swapped her robe for a hooded one lined with white fur. She buckled metal bracers to her forearms and lower legs, checking the buckles of her leathers before reaching for her weapons.
They lay on a marble table in the centre of her rooms, her bow, Tunglskin, and her long knives Sigr and Drengskapr, nestled on pillows of emerald velvet, gleaming in the light of the torches. She took up her knives, spun them once in her fists and sliced a single hair from her head to check their sharpness, before sliding them into their sheaves and strapping the belt to her waist. She was just about to pick up her bow and quiver when a slender, pale hand stayed her wrist.
Loki.
She eyed him for one moment, body now clad in his light armour, knives tucked in his arm bracers and boots, and the concern in those dark eyes, and then turned away.
"If you're contemplating ordering me to stay behind, and you think I'm going to obey, you've got another thing coming," she snapped, testing the bowstring on Tunglskin, before stowing the bow on her back. She felt his sigh, as he pressed his body against her back, and she relaxed into his arms.
"I thought you would say that," he sighed. "So I won't bother."
"Good," Eir muttered, eyes drifting closed as his lips drifted over the sliver of skin left exposed, below her jaw, by her leathers. "You're finally learning the wisdom of not arguing with me."
"It is particularly fruitless when I can instead have the pleasure of feeling you melting into my arms," he whispered into her ear, one hand sliding down her waist seductively, indeed making her melt into him. Her leathers absorbed the heat of his hands, warming her body through and making her heart pound. She forced herself to turn in his arms, shuddering as his hand drifted from her abdomen to her back due to the movement.
She eyed his deceptively innocent look, and didn't believe it for a moment. "You aren't imagining you can seduce me into remaining behind?" she asked, annoyingly breathless.
He grinned wolfishly. "Would I do a thing like that?" he asked, his thumb drawing circles on her lower back, between her robe and her leathers. One fine brow on Eir's face rose, prompting him to chuckle. "Perish the thought, my love," he murmured, his handsome face easing back into his would be innocent look.
"I rather think your reputation as the God of Lies is overstated, my prince," she breathed. "You've never been innocent in your life."
And she wouldn't have wanted him any either way. Both knew it, and that knowledge made Loki's grin all the more mischievous when he replied.
"I don't think I appreciate your tone, my lady," he hissed, leaning in. "Perhaps I should teach you the proper way to address a prince."
Mouth suddenly dry, Eir just laughed. "I always was a slow learner."
Her hands slid into his hair as their lips met, relishing dark silk under her palms. She moaned against his mouth, his reputation for having a clever tongue frighteningly true in more ways than one.
His arms strained her closer, sliding one knee between hers. Eir broke away with a gasp, sliding her hands from his hair to frame his elegant face. "When we return, come to my bed tonight. It's been far too long," she breathed.
"As my lady wishes," he replied heatedly, before reclaiming her lips. A violently cleared throat made them pause, then Loki straightened with a sigh. "Brother, we're rather busy," he muttered, looking towards the blonde Prince standing in the doorway with a raised eyebrow.
"I can see that. Perhaps you'd rather stay?" Thor asked teasingly. Loki grumbled but let Eir go, allowing her to breathe and regain her composure.
"Someone has to keep an eye on you, brother dear," the younger Prince muttered, following his brother out of Eir's chambers and down the corridor to where Lady Sif and the Warriors Three waited, Eir following in their wake.
They emerged from the palace, and into a side courtyard where their horses awaited them. The Warriors' and Lady Sif's weapons waited on a marble bench, glimmering in the late afternoon sunlight.
"We must find a way to get past Heimdall," Thor began, musing as he checked the catches of his armour.
"That will be no easy task," Volstagg pronounced. "It's said the Gatekeeper can see a single drop of dew fall from a blade of grass, a thousand worlds away!"
The whole group chuckled, as Fandral teased his comrade. "Yes, and he can hear a cricket passing gas in Niffelheim."
"He can probably smell it too," Eir added.
"Jest not!" Volstagg gasped. "He heareth all!"
"Please," Fandral scoffed, as the two walked towards their mounts. "Passing him should be simple enough now, since he seems to be letting Frost Giants sneak by under his nose!"
"Oh, forgive him, he meaneth no offence!" the red-haired warrior spoke to the skies. Eir shook her head, following in their wake until she realised her lover wasn't beside her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him talking to one of the guards, before he caught her eye and came to join her.
"What was that about?" she asked suspiciously. Loki smiled.
"Nothing, my love," he breathed, and her eyes narrowed but she let it go. She flicked her hood up, covering her long blonde braid, and went to her mount, a large black stallion who greeted her with a whinny and a nudge of his great nose. Loki, however, he snorted and bared his teeth at.
"Your brute never did like me," he sighed, prompting a mock-outraged glance from Eir.
"Do not call my darling a 'brute'. He's just jealous of you," she told him, mounting gracefully, while Loki did the same. He grinned, leaning in and stealing a kiss from her lips.
"For good reason," he growled quietly, making her blush and look away.
"When you're ready, brother," Thor called tauntingly. Loki took up Einar's reins and merely smirked arrogantly. Eir met Sif's eye, and glared until the grinning warrior looked away.
With a glance at Loki, Thor pushed his mount to gallop, the others following in his wake, as they rode for the Gate, and Jotunheim.
The City of Asgard flashed past them as they galloped from the palace to the Lower City, and through the Gates to the Asbru Bridge, the rainbow crystal below their mounts' hooves ringing with their passage. The wind from the ocean and the stars above their heads whipped their hair back behind them, Eir's and Sif's long tresses streaming like pennants forged of gold and ebony.
Before the Bifrost, they reined their mounts in, dropping from the saddles. Some feet away stood Heimdall, Keeper of the Bifrost Gate, the great sword Hofud clutched in his strong hands. His golden armour gleamed in the light of the stars.
His all-seeing eyes pierced them as the group moved towards the Gatekeeper. Loki stepped forward with a confident grin. "Leave this to me," he told Thor, winking at Eir. "Good Heimdall…"
"You're not dressed warmly enough," the Gatekeeper interjected. Eir tensed.
"I'm sorry?" Loki asked, innocently.
"Do you think that you can deceive me?" Heimdall continued. Loki smiled and opened his mouth.
"You must be mistaken-"
"Enough!" Thor interrupted, stepping around his brother impatiently. "Heimdall, may we pass?"
"Never has an enemy slipped my watch until this day," the Gatekeeper replied calmly. "I wish to know how that happened."
"Then tell no one where we have gone until we have returned. Understand?" the God of Thunder barked, before walking around the Gatekeeper and leading the way into the Bifrost chamber.
"What happened? Silver tongue turned to lead?" Volstagg teased Loki, as he passed. The Prince's jaw tightened, but he did not reply, following Eir into the chamber, as she glanced at him exasperatedly.
Inside the great, iridescent chamber, the seven warriors took up their place before the Gate, Eir's hand brushing Loki's as she took her place beside him.
Heimdall slid Hofud into the central console, and the crackling echo of power filled the air around them, filling small chamber with silvery tendrils of light. The chamber began to rotate, faster and faster, while the gateway in front of them lit with the blinding, flashing light as the path to Jotunheim began to open.
"Be warned," Heimdall spoke behind them. "I will honour my sworn oath to protect this realm as its Gatekeeper. If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, Bifrost will remain closed. You will be left to die in the cold wastes of Jotunheim."
"Couldn't you just leave the bridge open for us?" Volstagg asked nervously.
"To leave the bridge open would be to unleash the full power of the Bifrost and destroy Jotunheim with you upon it," Heimdall replied coolly.
"Of course," Eir sighed sarcastically. "Otherwise this would be just too easy."
Loki chuckled. "Easy is just no fun, love," he murmured, before Thor spoke.
"I have no plans to die today."
"None do," Heimdall sighed, before the gate pulled them in, yanking them from Asgard and into the chaotic vortex of Bifrost.
They landed on Jotunheim with a resounding crash, ice splintering across the ground where they landed, a chill wind plucking at the edges of their cloaks and hair. Eir was suddenly very glad she had chosen to change her robe for the fur-lined one.
She withdrew Tunglskin from her quiver, the silver-chased bow gleaming, and nocked an arrow in readiness.
She had never been to Jotunheim, but she knew she would not be saddened to leave. It was a desolate, icy place. Great black clouds obscured the sunlight, and constant flurries of snow drifted across the group.
The remains of ancient cliffs jutted from the landscape, high into the sky like jagged blades; stalactites, unstable and lethal, collapsed under their own weight, threatening to impale and crush the unwary. Behind them was a great chasm, dropping down into darkness, the snow flurries dancing across it like tiny icy fairies.
The wind picked up, violently throwing the snow around in the air, whipping at their legs and cloak, any uncovered skin already growing colder. Eir felt it in her bones.
"We shouldn't be here," Hogan grunted. Eir fully agreed with him. The silence was torturous and damning, warning the invaders not to intrude further.
"Let's move," Thor breathed, taking the lead. Eir went to follow, before she felt Loki's strong hand brush her wrist where it held her bow in readiness.
"Stay close to me," he whispered. She glanced into his eyes, and saw the plea was not from a lack of trust in her abilities, but the need to know she was with him and safe. She nodded once, before flicking her hood back up from where it had fallen during the ride from Asgard, making her look like an ice queen, a figure fully at home in this icy hell.
No one spoke as they walked, too tense, nerves jangling, even their very breath suspended as the silence infected their limbs.
The wind spoke with a clear voice: Turn Back.
They approached what appeared to be a chaotic jumble of fallen stalactites, before Eir recognised stone mixed in with the dark onyx of the stony ice, and felt her heart beat faster.
They were near the ruins of the City of the Jotuns.
Still nothing moved, as they penetrated deeper into the ruined city, except for the rocky screams of ice and stone as it collapsed under its own weight, the silence all-consuming.
"Where are they?" Sif asked, tersely.
"Hiding. As cowards always do," Thor replied coldly.
At last they reached a clear space in the chaos of the ruins, ringed in by the rocky path behind them, and the icy, deadly looking mass of ice and stone before them.
"You've come a long way to die, Asgardians," a voice colder than the wind, more poisonous than any serpent, echoed from the ruins. The group instinctively paused, fanning out, their hands on their weapons.
Eir moved a little too far away, and Loki glared at her, prompting her to move back towards him with a sigh and roll of her eyes.
"I am Thor Odinson," Thor announced proudly.
"We know who you are," the voice replied.
"How did your people get into Asgard?" he asked, fiercely, Mjolnir loose and ready in his hand.
For a moment, only silence reigned, before the voice spoke again, its tone cool but taunting. "The House of Odin is full of traitors."
"Do not dishonour my father's name with your lies!" Thor growled, enraged, hefting Mjolnir threateningly.
There came a great screech of stone, as if being rent apart, then a towering figure materialised from the maze of black ice. His blood red eyes pierced them all, his blue skin marked by long ridges almost like scars, his voice growling like the tortured scream of rock as it is ground by a glacier.
Laufey, King of the Frost Giants.
"Your father is a murderer and a thief," he spat. "And why have you come here? To make peace?" he asked, scornfully. "You long for battle, you crave it. You're nothing but a boy, trying to prove himself a man."
The others shifted uneasily, as Frost Giants melted away from the ruins, surrounding them. Eir's fingers tightened on her bowstring, Hogan shifted his weight, Volstagg's hands closed on the shaft of his axe, Sif's jaw tightened as she eyed the oncoming Frost Giants, Fandral reached for the hilt of his sabre, and Loki's quick eyes, as cold as the ice around them, flitted from one Giant to another.
Thor however, appeared oblivious. "This boy grows tired of your mockery," he snarled. The surrounding Frost Giant warriors suddenly wielded icy blades in their hands, conjured from the chill air around them.
Loki tried to speak reason to his brother. "Thor, stop and think. Look around you, we're outnumbered."
"Know your place, brother," was Thor's only reply, shrugging off his brother's hand.
"You know not what your actions would unleash," Laufey continued. "I do. Go. Now. While I still allow it."
A monstrous Giant approached the two Princes, glowering at Thor, daring him to disobey.
"We will accept your most gracious offer," Loki replied, his tone as smooth as honey, betraying none of the tension Eir could see in his strong, lithe frame. Thor's jaw clenched but he said nothing. "Come on, brother!"
Loki turned away, followed eventually by Thor, as the group began to move away.
Then the Frost Giant spoke. "Run back home, little princess."
Eir mentally groaned. Loki's exasperated "Damn!" summed it up rather well.
Thor hefted Mjolnir, and turned, smashing the offending Frost Giant out of existence. "Next?" he called, cockily. Then all hell broke loose.
Eir had loosed an arrow before the closest Giant to her moved, moving backwards as she searched for higher ground.
The others sprang into battle, Sif's double-ended blade spear scything through her attackers without mercy.
Volstagg roared and grappled with the Frost Giants, his axe flashing as he hewed them down.
Hogan's spiked mace crashed into one Giant after another, until an ice wall sprang up, knocking him to the ground.
Fandral danced through his fight, his sabre whirling in a vortex of lethal metal.
But it was Loki Eir watched from the corner of her eye, as she loosed arrow after arrow, turning and spinning, taking only seconds to aim, the bowstring of Tunglskin singing as it did its work.
Loki fought as he did most things: elegantly and with precision. Long blades leapt from his hands, meeting their target with a deadly accuracy that Thor, with all his strength and might, could not match.
Of course Loki noticed her preoccupation, and grinned wolfishly. "Enjoying the show?" he called, smugly. Eir narrowed her eyes as another Frost Giant fell to his knees before her, an arrow embedded in his throat. His eyes widened, and horror filled his eyes. "Eir, behind you!"
She spun in time to see a Frost Giant leap at her, an ice dagger in his great fist. She blocked his stab with Tunglskin, but the Giant shoved her back towards the edge of the precipice, and she teetered, her balance precarious.
She ducked another attack, dropped Tunglskin and whipped Sigr, the blade of Victory flashing as it sliced open the Giant's chest. He fell with a groan at her feet.
She was briefly aware of Thor's yelled taunt, "At least make it a challenge for me!" before one of the Frost Giants slammed his fist into the ground a few feet from Eir, turning it into a slippery river of ice, causing her to once again teeter on the edge. Her boots lost their grip, she began to fall…
The Frost Giant fell, a shining blade embedded in his head, and then Loki was there, pulling her up and into his arms, his handsome face hard.
He released her with just a nod, but his eyes promised retribution when they were safe and alone, back in Asgard. Eir shivered, and it wasn't from the cold.
She retrieved Tunglskin, stowing it safely in her now empty quiver, and drew Drengskapr, spinning them in her fists and launching herself into closer battle.
She saw Hogan knocked down by an ice boulder, and threw Sigr towards the Frost Giant now bearing down on the warrior, its blade slicing into flesh and muscle with ease. She held out her hand and it returned, the handle flying into her grip as she turned to confront another Giant.
Loki had enchanted them to return to her, in a similar way as Mjolnir, after they had been forged for her, centuries before.
The Giant charged her, as she flipped over his head, Drengskapr flashing in the gloom as it cut through the armoured helmet, blood turning to ice as it left the Giant's body. She landed gracefully, Drengskapr returning to her hand when she turned and saw a sight to make her heart stop.
Loki stood at the edge of the cliff, a Frost Giant rushing towards him with a savage roar. With a cry, she rushed towards him but she was too far away…
Then the Giant lunged and dove through Loki, falling over the precipice, his cry echoing up the canyon as he fell. Eir slid to a halt, before her mind caught up with her body.
Loki had copied himself.
With a sigh of relief, and a mental promise to get him back for that scare later, she glared at him as he emerged from behind a pillar with a grin and a mischievous twinkle when he caught her gaze.
They heard Volstagg's roar of mingled pain and fury, as he grappled with a Frost Giant, and spun to face him.
"Don't let them touch you!" he called warningly. Eir tried to reach him, to heal him, but was distracted by another Giant rushing her from her right, and kicked out, bringing the Giant to his knees with a grunt, and then ducking beneath the guard of his ice blade, and stabbing him through the heart.
Her inner Valkyrie sang as Drengskapr and Sigr danced their deadly duet.
She saw Loki charge a Frost Giant, his blade sliding home, the monster collapsing to his knees, but not before he grabbed Loki's forearm. Eir charged towards him, as Loki's arm shook, the armour and leather melting away but when she reached them, she didn't see frostbite.
Loki's skin had turned blue.
Eir's eyes widened, matching Loki's own, as he looked down then back at the Frost Giant, fear and disgust in his usually twinkling eyes. With a snarl, he stabbed the monster, and rose, flexing his hand as the skin returned to its normal hue.
He glanced up and saw Eir, wide-eyed, frozen like an ice statue, unheeding of the danger around them.
Fandral's cry of agony distracted them both.
They turned to see him impaled by an ice spike, and as Eir rushed to his aid, Loki threw one of his knives, felling the Frost Giants who were rushing to finish Fandral off.
Sif, Hogan and Volstagg rushed to their friend, the latter two lifting him from the spike, and laying him down on the ground. Eir knelt beside him, pressing her hand into the wound, closing her eyes, willing her powers of healing to answer her call.
She reached tendrils of magic into the wound, blocking the bleeding, creating a makeshift tourniquet but she needed to get him back to Asgard to heal him fully.
"I've staunched the bleeding but I cannot heal him here," she told Sif. "We must return to Asgard."
"Thor!" Sif cried, as Volstagg hefted Fandral onto his shoulders. Eir turned, sheathed Drengskapr and Sigr, and drew Tunglskin, pulling two arrows from a dead Frost Giant and firing them in quick succession at two Giants rushing her future-brother-in-law from behind. They fell.
"We must go!" Loki shouted.
But Thor would not listen, the heat of battle in his blood as he smashed Giant after Giant with Mjolnir.
"Then go!" he called back, not taking his eyes off the charging Giants.
"Come on!" Eir called to the others, leading the way over the treacherous landscape. With a thrill of fear, she glimpsed Laufey strike the ground with his fist, a river of ice spreading from him to a great ice-ridden monolith, its surface cracking to reveal a great beast, with curling horns and flaming eyes, which leapt forward with a roar.
She noticed Loki, standing and watching his brother. She raced to his side and took his arm. "Come, Loki. Thor will come," she breathed. His eyes pierced hers, and she remembered his blue skin, nausea rolling in her stomach. She pushed it away, and pulled at his arm, strong as granite. "Come away!"
With a tightening of his jaw, Loki ran with her.
She heard him call his brother's name as they sprinted, the ground collapsing beneath their feet at the coming of the Ice Beast, forcing them to jump and attempt to outrace the steadily disintegrating ground.
The Beast reached them, its tail spiked like Hogan's mace, slamming into the ground and almost catching Sif as she ducked between the deadly spikes. Eir called her name in desperation, but then the warrior was free, and she ran on.
A stalagmite collapsed, rent by the Beast's claws, and nearly crushed Eir and Hogan, but they rolled and came up on their feet, as the creature roared in frustration. The Bifrost site was getting nearer, but Thor had not come.
Suddenly there came a great crash of thunder, lightning flaming across the sky, and the ground fell from beneath them, as the Beast floundered and then disappeared, Fandral's laugh of pained triumph echoing around them.
Eir's heart pounded, her blood singing even as her soul cried out at the deaths of those she had killed and who had died just then. She was part Valkyrie but she was also part Healer. She did not rejoice in death.
A crevasse opened up in the snow and rock before them, and they leapt it, skidding to a halt on the edge of the cliff face where they had landed.
"Heimdall! Open the Bridge!" Volstagg called, but there came no answering beam of light.
Eir remembered the Gatekeeper's words.
"If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, Bifrost will remain closed. You will be left to die in the cold wastes of Jotunheim."
Then a clawed foot reached over the cliff edge, and the Ice Beast pulled itself up, growling triumphantly as they backed away. It roared, and Eir drew Sigr and Drengskapr once more, her hands tight around the hilts. Once again, she drew close to her betrothed, as she glared defiantly up at the creature.
But as the creature reared up on its hind legs, claws raised to crush them, a whirl of scarlet and silver crashed into it, and out through its fanged mouth. The creature's eyes rolled back into its head, and it collapsed with a dying growl.
Stunned, barely able to breathe, Eir watched as Thor landed, Mjolnir hefted in his great hand, triumphant and proud.
"Did you really have to be so messy?" she quipped caustically, as the Beast slipped over the edge of the precipice and into the abyss below. He turned to face them with a cocky grin, but it faded. Heart sinking, Eir turned with Loki and the others to see hundreds of Frost Giants surrounding them on the plain, Laufey at their head.
They were impossibly outnumbered, even with Mjolnir.
Eir caught Loki's eye, and smiled a touch sadly, the memory of that blue tone rushing up his arm like a virus at the touch of the Frost Giant unimportant then. He was her lover, and they were going to die. Wordlessly, she moved closer to him, their hands brushing as they gripped their weapons tighter, prepared to die as warriors.
The Frost Giants charged…
Then everything became a blur of light and noise, the wind whirling around them as a horse's neigh echoed like a horn of battle, and they turned to see Sleipnir, the great steed rearing into the air, his four front legs flailing, as deadly as clubs.
The All-Father sat atop him, Gungnir in his mighty hand, his armour shining like a star.
"Father! We'll finish them together!" Thor roared in triumph. Sleipnir quietened, as Odin hissed at his son.
"Silence!"
Laufey called the rock to bear him, bringing him to eye level with Odin.
"All Father, you look weary," he purred, and the sound made Eir's skin crawl as she sheathed her weapons.
"Laufey," Odin began, "End this now."
"Your boy sought this out," the Frost Giant King murmured.
"You're right. These are the actions of a boy. Treat them as such," Odin replied. Eir felt Thor bristle angrily, but he did not speak. They watched and listened, tense and on edge, as Laufey and Odin traded barbs and threats, Odin trying to smooth over Thor's indiscretion as the tricks of a boy.
But it was too late. Thor had brought war upon Asgard.
Laufey smiled and went to strike the All-Father with an ice dagger, but Odin knocked him back, and then they were consumed by the Bifrost, rocketing upwards to Asgard.
Once they were safely inside the Bifrost chamber, Volstagg's strength collapsed as he fell to his knees, Fandral tumbling to the floor.
"Why did you bring us back?" Thor demanded of his father as Odin dismounted Sleipnir and the great horse took himself to his stable. Eir rushed to Fandral and Volstagg, her warrior blood cooling now they were home and safe once more.
Odin turned on his son in anger. "Do you realise what you've done? What you've started?"
"I was protecting my home!" Thor replied angrily.
"You cannot even protect your friends, how can you hope to protect the kingdom!" Odin withdrew Hofud from the Bifrost console and threw it to Heimdall, who bowed and withdrew. He gestured to Sif, the Warriors Three and Eir. "Get to the Healing Room! Now!"
Volstagg and Hogan lifted Fandral between them, his arms over each shoulder, and began to walk him quickly out of the chamber, hastened by the All-Father's wrath. Sif followed.
Eir lingered, her eyes going to Loki, before he smiled a little, and nodded. Reassured, she inclined her head to the All-Father and turned away, the skirts of her robe flowing behind her, hurrying after her charges, the angry voices of Odin and Thor ringing in her ears.
Later, when Fandral and Volstagg were taken care of and ensconced in their chambers, Eir slipped away to change, and to wash the blood from their wounds from her hands.
All of them had suffered a few scrapes, Sif had cut her cheek from some ice shards a Frost Giant had thrown at her, Hogan his arm, and of course Fandral's chest and upper right arm had been pierced. She had healed the wound, but he would need to rest to ensure the magical bonds she had placed on the muscle and the skin would not tear. Volstagg's frostbite would take time, but she would treat it with a salve, and it should be alright in a day or two.
Once in her chambers, she stripped out of her warrior's leathers and robe, putting them aside to be cleaned. She washed the dried blood from her hands and arms, before inspecting the damage to her own body. She bled from a cut to her cheek, and a few smaller lacerations to her arms from the ice shards that had rained down on them at times.
Suddenly she felt a tremor deep within, and she gasped. Something had happened.
Trying to push aside the sudden weakness she felt as pain and sadness washed over her, Eir washed her wounds and slipped into a light robe, undoing her braid to let her hair free. She cleaned it of any blood or stone fragments, and then brushed it until it shone.
As she worked, her thoughts ran to that moment, when Loki's arm turned blue. She felt another tremor run through her, and she shuddered in response. What did it mean? Why hadn't he suffered frostbite like Volstagg did?
Loki had looked as shocked and fearful as she had felt. The colour had leached from his skin as quickly as it came. Did that mean…?
Eir closed her eyes and hid her face in her hands. A moment later, she raised her eyes to her reflection in her mirror, and her face hardened. Whatever had happened, it changed nothing. He was still Loki, her lover and betrothed, and she did not care what it meant. She loved him too much.
She turned and gasped when she found her lover stood behind her, a dark presence in the light marble of her chambers, his hair dishevelled still from the fight on Jotunheim, and he looked…lost, almost bewildered. She breathed his name and went to him, as his arms held her tightly, almost too tight for her to breathe comfortably. She did not care.
She felt his lips press against her neck once, twice before he drew back to meet her gaze.
"Thor has been banished," he told her, in a hoarse voice. "To Earth."
Eir froze. Thor, banished? And to Earth?
"Father stripped him of his power, and of Mjolnir. Only those worthy of the power of Thor may wield it now," Loki continued. Her eyes searched his face, her mind frozen in shock.
If Thor was gone, that meant…
Loki was the heir to the throne of Asgard.
Trembling slightly, she looked up. "Please, Loki, tell me you had nothing to do with this…" she trailed off, as Loki glowered down at her.
"I disagreed with Thor's actions from the beginning, but I did not wish him gone. Nor did I plan it to be so," he told her through gritted teeth. She met his eyes and saw he was sincere.
Wordlessly, she held him to her. He tensed for a moment, before she felt his head tuck itself against hers, and his arms tighten. She could feel the heat of them through her thin robe.
"Forgive me, love," she breathed against the leather of his tunic. He sighed, and held her closer. She lifted her head from his chest, and saw all the questions in those piercing orbs, the suspicions, the fears.
She felt them herself. He opened his mouth to speak, but she was faster, pulling his mouth against hers fiercely. He froze for a heartbeat, then reciprocated, pressing deeply into the warm, wet cavern of her mouth. She was desperate to pretend nothing was wrong, that something did not hang between them, that they were just celebrating a safe return from battle, and the fact they were both alive and mostly unhurt.
It seemed Loki shared her desperation.
His armour and tunics melted away beneath her hands, leaving only warm, pale flesh. She traced each familiar muscle, each well-explored hollow of his body, as he walked them to her bed. They tumbled back onto its cushioning depths, and Eir arched as she felt her robe disappear, Loki's hands buried in her hair as he drew back, panting and hoarse.
"I cannot lose you. Ever," he growled, but before she could answer, his lips were on hers once more, devouring, possessive. As he finally broke away, and his lips went to the long, arching column of her throat, she arched and cried her reply to the heated air.
"You never will," she vowed, the words ringing in the air. No matter what happened next, she would not let this come between them.
Her blood sang in her veins the way it usually did in battle, as he sheathed himself inside of her, making her cry out in ecstasy. She sought his lips with hers, and strove to show him, with her body, how much she loved him and how she would never forsake him. Ever.
He was life to her. She would never let him go.
Later, when both were spent, she lay in his arms, both propped up by the mass of pillows at the head of the bed, his long, clever fingers tracing a bruise from his hands on her shoulder. She smiled sleepily, as he kissed it, and glanced down to see it fade away.
He had healed it.
"Well, that's a novel way of healing bruises," she joked quietly. "I should try it sometime."
"I had a good teacher," he replied, making her smile deepen. She had been the one to teach him the healing arts, just as he had been the one to teach her to fight, all those long centuries ago. He kissed the spot where the bruise had been, before frowning as he glimpsed more, more that were not of his making. "You should have gone to the healers yourself."
Eir sighed. Unfortunately, her powers of healing did not work on herself. If she was wounded, another had to heal her. She shuddered in pleasure as Loki ran his hands over her body, erasing bruises and cuts. He kissed her shoulder once more, before capturing her lips, tilting his head to deepen it. She clung to him, one hand buried in the hair at the nape of his neck, before twisting around to pull herself against him fully.
When they parted, he looked down, a small frown growing on his smooth brow.
"What is it?" Eir asked, concernedly.
"I fear Thor's banishment is…long-term," he confessed. "I have never seen Father so angry. I don't think Thor calling him a fool helped matters."
"Thor was always too ready and too unthinking with his tongue," she mused. "Perhaps he may redeem himself one day."
"That is my hope," Loki murmured. "It will depend if he can prove himself worthy of Mjolnir again."
"If he does not…I have faith that you can rule Asgard with wisdom and courage when the time comes," Eir told him seriously. Loki smiled, a little sadly.
"It's strange, really. I was always jealous of Thor, and how Father seemed to favour him, but even then…I have never wanted the throne. I just wanted to be Thor's equal in his eyes, and in Father's."
"You already are," Eir told him earnestly, stroking his face. "And even more importantly, you are the man I love."
Loki relaxed at her words, but she could see he didn't believe her words that he was Thor's equal.
"How fare the others? Is Fandral and Volstagg alright?" he asked.
"I have healed Fandral's wound but he will need to rest it for a day, lest the magical bonds tear and he reopens it. Volstagg's arm will need to a salve to help his skin repair itself, but other than that, they are all well. I think they're in their common room," she told him. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif shared a common room where they went to talk and drink together, away from the court. Eir recalled many happy evenings spent in there, teasing and talking, reliving old feats, and more often than not, Sif and Eir proving they could out drink the men.
"I should inform them of Thor's banishment myself," Loki released her, leaving the bed. He conjured fresh clothing to cover his body, while Eir reached for her robe. As she cinched the belt tight, she caught him staring at his hand, the one the Frost Giant had touched, and a lump rose in her throat.
Turning away, she went to her clothes chest, to hunt out fresh leathers when Loki's arms slid around her waist.
"Allow me," he whispered in her ear. She stood still while his hands slid down her body, heating her skin even after their lovemaking moments before. She felt her robe melt away again to be replaced by one of her dresses. She looked down and saw white silk, the hem dyed a light green and embroidered with flowers. The sleeves were the same shade, long and draped, opening from her wrist like arum lilies. Her bodice was the same shade of green as her hem and embroidered with the same pattern, the neckline sewn with tiny emeralds.
Her eyes narrowed at her lover. "You're as bad as your mother," she told him haughtily, as she turned to face him. He brushed her golden hair back from her face, his eyes darkening for a moment, before he grinned devilishly, and the shadow lifted.
"You love me for it," he growled, pulling her into his kiss. She moaned exasperatedly, pushing him away, and turning to leave.
"Come, or we'll never leave my chambers," she called over her shoulder. She felt his presence at her back, and she could just imagine his mischievous grin.
"You say that like it's a bad thing,"
They entered the Warriors Three's living quarters, and found them in their common room, Volstagg and Sif lounging on long, low-slung sofas, framed in gold and upholstered in crimson velvet. Hogan stood, glaring out the open window of the room, while Fandral lounged next to the fire.
Sif stood as soon as they entered, anticipation on her lovely face. "Loki, what news? Where is Thor?"
Eir left the explanations to him, and immediately went to Fandral, kneeling beside him to check his wound beneath the sleeveless robe he wore. He was bare-chested beneath that.
He grinned flirtatiously at her. "Always knew you couldn't wait to get your hands on me," he quipped, as her quick fingers probed the wound. He flinched. "OW!"
Loki smirked, before answering Sif. "Father has banished Thor to Midgard, for his actions," he told them. Everyone fell silent.
"What?" Sif breathed. Volstagg, Hogan and Fandral turned to face Loki.
"Father stripped Thor of his power and Mjolnir, and sent him to Midgard," he told them. "It appears a guard informed the All-Father of our absence and destination, and he came after us. After you left us, Thor quarrelled with Father and insulted him. After that, Father stripped him of his power, his armour and Mjolnir, and sent him down the Bifrost to Midgard."
Silence fell as the Warriors Three and Sif took in Loki's tale.
"We should never have let him go," Volstagg sighed, as Hogan sat down beside Fandral. Eir rose, and fetched a pot of salve for Volstagg's arm.
"There was no stopping him," Sif replied quietly.
"At least we were there to stop him getting himself killed," Eir replied.
"And at least he's only banished and not dead," Fandral put in. "Which is what we would be if that guard hadn't told Odin where we'd gone."
Eir smoothed the salve over the angry red wound on Volstagg's arm, the burned flesh making a crackling noise and making the red-haired warrior squirm. "Ouch!" he growled, as Eir rolled her eyes.
"Big baby," she murmured softly. "Hold still, this will help your skin to heal."
As she finished and rose, cleaning her hand on a cloth laid beside Volstagg, she glimpsed Loki once more staring down at his hand, his jaw clenched. Her heart stung.
"How did the guard even know?" Volstagg wondered.
"I told him," Loki's soft voice rang out across the chamber, making all freeze. Eir remembered glimpsing him speaking to one of the guards just before they left the palace, and she frowned.
"What?" Fandral demanded, shocked.
"I told him to go to Odin after we left," Loki confessed. "He should be flogged for taking so long, we should never have reached Jotunheim."
"You told the guard!" Volstagg exploded angrily.
"I saved our lives," Loki replied coldly. "And Thor's. I had no idea Father would banish him for what he did."
Sif stood, a desperate hope on her beautiful features. "Loki, you must go to the All-Father and convince him to change his mind," she breathed urgently. Loki tensed, and his eyes blazed.
"And if I do, then what?" he demanded, snapping at Sif like a wounded dog. "I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you know what he is. He's arrogant, he's reckless, he's dangerous! You saw how he was today! Is that what Asgard needs from its King?"
He walked away, rage in every step as he left the room. Eir stood, calling out to him but he did not turn.
"He may speak of the good of Asgard, but he's always been jealous of Thor," Sif muttered. Eir turned, eyes already turning on Sif angrily. The warrior woman met her gaze squarely. "You know it is true, Eir."
"That may be so, but his love for his brother outweighs any envy he feels," Eir replied icily.
"We should be grateful to him, he saved our lives," Volstagg added in agreement.
Hogan turned to look at them, his grim eyes studying them all intently. "Laufey said there was a traitor in the House of Odin. A master of magic could bring three Jotuns into Asgard…" he trailed off, suggestively. Rage built in Eir as she whirled to face Hogan, disbelieving of what was coming from her old friend's mouth.
"Loki's always been one for mischief, but you're talking of something else entirely!" Fandral seemed to agree, as Eir stepped forward.
"Be very careful, Hogan," she growled. "Do not think that my vocation as Healer would stop me from cutting out your poisonous tongue! Do none of you know the man you have fought beside for centuries? Perhaps you should take time to remember before you persecute him for Thor's stupidity,"
She glared at them all, but Hogan and Sif especially, before she turned and left the room, her skirts floating behind her as she hurried after her lover.