The Allfather was beside himself with fury. Heimdall, ever loyal, had informed him directly that his wife had taken Loki with her to Midgard. He had struggled to believe her capable of this, especially given the turn their last conversation had taken, but knew that Heimdall would not have deceived him. Odin stormed through the hallways of the palace towards the chambers he shared with his wife. He burst through the doors, crimson cape billowing out behind him like dragon's breath.
"Frigga!" he bellowed, seeing the room empty.
The queen entered the chamber from one of the numerous adjoining rooms, still dressed in her travelling garments. She stopped abruptly at the sight of her husband. It was immediately apparent that he was in a rage. His eyepatch seemed to glisten with golden ire. His knuckles were white from gripping his staff so tightly. Frigga was no fool; she knew there was only one possible explanation for her husband's temper, but she would not give in to him so easily.
"My lord?" she replied, voice calm.
"Do not play games with me, Frigga. I will not be mocked. Did you think it would escape my attention that our son accompanied you on your journey today?"
"I had hoped so, though perhaps I was naive to believe that Heimdall would hold his tongue," she said, more than a little insolently.
"Do not attempt to place blame on the gatekeeper," Odin spat. "You are the one in the wrong here, Frigga!"
"I fail to see how so, my lord. I took Loki to Midgard with me because I believed - and rightly so, I might add - that both he and Elsa would benefit from the company of the other. I can see no justifiable reason," she added, raising her voice so as not to be interrupted, "for you to be in such a temper about it."
"Don't be facetious. You knowingly went against my wishes by taking our son there."
"I did no such thing. You told me to help Elsa control her powers, and I did, with the added benefit of showing our son that such powers can in fact be controlled."
"Surely you cannot be so blind!" Odin said, appalled. "We have tried his entire life to keep Loki's true parentage hidden from him. You said yourself that he already feels an outcast. If he were ever to find out that he was born a frost giant, it would end him! And you thought it wise to thrust him into the path of a woman with the power to control ice?"
Frigga would not be deterred. "Loki is no closer to the truth now than he was before he met Elsa. In fact, the only thing that has changed is that they both feel a little less alone in the world! If you cannot see the good in that, Odin, then it is you who is blind, not I."
Odin shouted in exasperation, slamming the butt of his staff into the ground and sending sparks flying. Frigga remained unmoved. "Can you not see what you have done? Our last conversation consisted of you telling me that you fear the actions I might take if Loki ever becomes a danger to this realm," he paused, waiting for a response. When none came, he continued. "Do you wish for that day to come?"
"You know full well that I do not," Frigga said indignantly, offended at what her husband was suggesting.
"Very well. Then we are agreed on what must happen," he said cryptically as he turned to leave.
Frigga ran to place herself between Odin and the door. "What must happen?"
"All memories of their meeting must be erased. On both their parts."
Frigga's face fell. "Odin, no! You cannot!"
"I have no other option, Frigga. You have forced my hand in the matter." He pushed past her into the hallway, but only got a few strides before he was stopped by his wife pulling his arm. Her eyes were glistening.
"Odin, had you seen the effect they had on one another, you would not dare. Elsa blossomed. She made more progress with her abilities in those short hours with our son than she has in years. And Loki! I have never seen him look so at ease with another person before."
"That is precisely what worries me. Has it occurred to you that perhaps the reason he felt so 'at ease' was that his innate connection to ice was awakened through his interaction with the girl?" Odin was hissing the words now.
Frigga could not think how to reply to this. Of course it had occurred to her, but the happiness she had seen both in Elsa and her son had erased any fleeting doubts she might have had about the origins of this happiness. She watched, helpless, as Odin strode away down the corridor towards Loki's chambers.
Loki sat on his bed, books to one side, turning Elsa's ice token over and over again in his hands. A smile flitted across his face as he recalled the kiss that had taken place just after she gave it to him.
The smile faded as he recognised the raised voices of his parents outside his door.
"Odin, please, don't. Anything but this," his mother was pleading.
"My mind is made up, Frigga. Step aside." There was a coldness in his father's voice that filled Loki with dread, and he clutched the token tighter.
He stood as his father burst into the room, glowering as though about to take on an army, followed by his mother whose face was contorted with despair.
"Father, what-" Loki did not get to finish his sentence, as Odin crossed the distance between them and placed his hand on Loki's head. Loki's eyes rolled back in his skull and he collapsed on the bed, the token rolling out of his open palm. This went unnoticed by Odin whose own eyes were shut in concentration as he removed all memories of Elsa of Arendelle from his son's mind.
Frigga, acting purely on impulse, rushed forward and snatched the token from where it lay atop the sheets, managing to stow it away in the folds of her dress before Odin opened his eyes again.
"He will not remember her," the Allfather said quietly. Then, pausing by his wife's side on his way out he added, "It is for his own good, Frigga."
Then he left. Frigga rushed to Loki's side. He was in a deep sleep and would remain so for several hours. Having one's mind tampered with took its toll, even on a god. She brushed a lock of dark hair from his face and stroked his cheek lovingly. His already pale complexion seemed to have blanched several shades.
She took out the token and stared at it mournfully. She could not bear the thought of having to tell her son that he would never see Elsa again, but even worse was the knowledge that he would never even know she existed. He would have nothing to remember her by, not even a distant memory.
Suddenly she had a thought. Making sure Loki was comfortable, she left his chambers, heading towards the trading district with renewed purpose.
Odin stood over Elsa as she lay asleep, a peaceful look on her face. The room was completely free of ice which, though he admitted was quite remarkable, did not sway his decision. Protecting Loki was his ultimate priority, and the happiness of one mortal, gifted or otherwise, would not change that.
It was not without regret that he began the process of tampering with Elsa's memories. He could see, just as he had with Loki, that their connection ran far deeper than a mutual affinity for magic. However this simply served to fuel Odin's certainty that what he was doing was necessary; if Loki became too close to the girl he could also become closer to the truth of his parentage.
This process was more difficult. With Loki all he had had to do was make him believe that Frigga had never come to his room; that he had stayed in his chambers reading rather than travelling to Midgard. Just a tiny tweak and all memories of Elsa were suppressed so deep it would be impossible to ever dig them up again. However Odin wanted to make Elsa believe that he had come in Frigga's stead, and had told her everything his wife had deigned to omit, such as the threat of exile.
Replacing a true memory with a false one was far harder than just burying an existing one, and subsequently the illusion was far more likely to crumble over time if prompted. Odin convinced himself this was irrelevant because the only thing strong enough to prompt the original memory back to the surface was an encounter with Loki, something he would not allow to happen.
Elsa tossed and turned in her sleep, but did not wake. When Odin opened his eyes, satisfied with his work, she lay still, just as Loki had. Odin felt a surge of pity for the girl, her beautiful features pulled taut with distress. He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Rest now, child," he mumbled. "Asgard will be watching over you."
As he was about to leave, Odin paused. He noticed Loki's flame hovering beside the bed, casting a pale green glow over the room. Sighing, but with unshakeable resolve, he reached out and quashed the flame in his fist.
With that the Allfather turned and left, failing to notice the chill that had permeated the air and the ice that was slowly creeping back into the room. Just like a sly beast reclaiming its lair after an intrusion by a creature more powerful than itself, the gaping hole in Elsa's heart left by the loss of Loki Odinson was filled once more with the fear that had governed her life for so long.