The next morning Eir found herself attending the Queen's needs once more.

"How did my son fare yesterday?" asked Queen Frigga as Eir brushed her long, blonde hair.

"He is the same as ever," Eir said shortly, trying to end the discussion before it began-though it wasn't polite to do so.

Frigga gently brushed against Eir's hand, stilling the servant girl for a moment. "He isn't evil, Eir, I know it; he has simply lost his way… my wayward son. If we only-" the Queen shook her head and closed her lips tightly. Eir wondered what the Queen was thinking, could only guess at what she'd meant—but the servant girl wasn't brave enough to ask. But to Eir's surprise, Frigga spoke again.

"He's always felt less than his brother, as though we valued Thor more than he… But even so, Loki is so certain that he is more fit to rule than Thor; he believes he is better able to wield and understand the power of the throne. Maybe it is so. But Thor is…"

"He is the Crowned Prince, the rightful heir to the throne of Asgard," the redhead said, nodding slowly.

"Yes, the… rightful heir." The Queen repeated the phrase quietly, eyes distant and unfocused as her thoughts wandered.

She was convinced that Loki would eventually heal, if she only gave him the time and space to do so. So she had. She still believed that she'd made the right decision; Loki would return to himself when he was ready—but she feared she could not keep herself away from him much longer. She loved her son with all her heart and ached to be with him again. He was her youngest, her darling scholar. Just as Thor, a born warrior so like his Father, had claimed a favored place in Odin's heart, Loki had claimed her affection the moment she'd held him in her arms.

If only they'd told him the truth from the very beginning, she lamented. How different things could have been!

"My Queen?" Eir's quiet voice broke through her troubled thoughts. Frigga blinked, stiffening as she realized that she'd quite forgotten that she wasn't alone. No, she was still sitting in front of her mirror, Eir hovering behind her with brush in hand. The Queen cleared her throat delicately.

"Yes, of course…I am sorry to have kept you so long, child. We're done for today. You may resume your studies," she said, smoothing her hair with a trembling hand. Eir hesitated before blurting out a question, spinning the brush between her hands nervously.

"I was thinking, Queen Frigga… May I have your permission to visit Prince Loki today? This evening, I mean?"

Frigga blinked in surprise before smiling warmly and cupping the girl's cheek.

"You may visit him anytime you wish, child." The Queen paused, a warning in her eye. "Be discreet; the All-Father will not approve."

"As you command, my Queen."

Eir bowed jerkily, mumbling words of thanks as she rushed out of the room. A smile still graced the Queen's face as Eir shut the door behind her.

Perhaps her wayward son would find his way home sooner than she'd feared.

xxx

May I visit Prince Loki? What had possessed her to say such a thing? It was a foolish question, pointless, even. If the Queen asked it of her, then she had no choice but to go– but why would she visit him of her own free will? Ridiculous!

Consumed by her thoughts, Eir didn't notice she was mumbling until she heard laughter nearby.

"There's something bothering you, isn't there, Eir?" Sif laughed again, reminding Eir of a bell's clear chime.

"It's… It's a new spell I'm having trouble with," she blurted before grimacing. She'd answered much too quickly. Damn. But now the only thing she could do was keep up the lie.

"Is that so?" Sif teased, smiling widely. "And I was so sure I heard you muttering about free will and Midgard. Are you planning to leave us and live with the mortals?"

"Something like that." Eir smiled weakly, wishing the warrior woman would drop the matter.

Sif chuckled and thumped Eir's back before hurrying to join Thor and their friends just down the hall. Eir continued on her way, bowing as she passed the group. She needn't have bothered; no one paid the least bit of attention to her and, for once, she was grateful. She didn't wish to chat with anyone at the moment.

She strode toward the library as quickly as she could without breaking into a run. Even so, it took entirely too long to reach the obscure part of the archives that held the medical texts. She grabbed a tome at random, gently brushing its cover with her fingertips. She took a calming breath and shook her head determinedly, pushing distracting thoughts away. If she wanted to be a healer, she'd have to focus more on her studies!

The day flew by so quickly that she even forgot to eat—rather, she didn't want to remember anything but her studies. Focusing on the books allowed her to forget the stupid, stubborn thought that insisted on running marathons in her head. So she deliberately ignored everything but the words on the page; it worked just fine… for a while.

Eventually it grew too dark to read and Eir was forced to close the text, rubbing at tired eyes. She drifted away from the library, so exhausted that she completely forgot to return the book to its place. She sunk deep into her thoughts, mind hazy with facts and figures. She'd meant to return to her room, but when she came to herself, she was already walking through the prison gates. She hesitated, mouth forming an oh of comprehension.

The inmates stared and gestured obscenely, raucous laughter bouncing from wall to wall. She shuddered, trying to block out the noise as she ran towards the entrance of Loki's cell. The guards didn't seem surprised to see her; the Queen must have sent word.

She shrunk away from the unwelcome attention of the inmates, still whistling and laughing and saying all manner of things. She forced herself to nod politely at the guards before stepping into the cell, leaning against the door to press it shut. Her breathing was harsh and heavy, almost too loud in the blessed silence.

Loki had been reading at the table; now he watched her curiously, eyebrows raised as if to ask why she was here. Eir cleared her throat; it was only polite that she should be the one to begin the conversation.

"Uh- hello, Prince. I mean- Hello, Loki," she stuttered. Well, this is going splendidly. And why had she come here, again? "I… Umm…"

She faltered and fidgeted where she stood, confused and scolding herself internally. She wished she'd thought of a good explanation before coming to see the Prince. Loki frowned, anxiously getting to his feet.

"What's happened? Is there something wrong with Mother?"

She shook her head, unable to even look at him. Her stomach churned uneasily at the fear in his voice.

"Then what is it?" he asked impatiently, moving closer to her. So close that she could trace the weave of his garments with her eyes.

"I… I don't know. I'm sorry," she stammered and turned to leave, face flushing. "I shouldn't have come. I'll go; I'm sorry to have bothered you."

She stopped just before the door, clenching her eyes shut as she prepared herself for the humiliating walk through the prison and back to the palace. A slender hand, cool to touch, grabbed her by the arm and twisted her around to face the Prince.

"I asked what was wrong," he repeated, still holding her arm fast, too close for comfort. "Why are you here, girl?"

"I… It's stupid. I don't know what this is; I don't know why I came." She stared down at her feet. "Maybe I did know, before. But they-" She swallowed, throat tight with emotion. "This is such a terrible place. I didn't know- all those monsters-" She pressed her lips together and shook her head violently, unwilling to speak further.

"Monsters? Of course there are monsters here. In fact, if you look closely, you'll find yourself standing right next to one of them," He smiled mischievously, clearly intending the remark as a jest; she was unable to see it so. She still refused to look at him, fear of the other inmates flooding her thoughts.

"No, that's not- It's not the same. They're all so… vile. In the morning it's always so quiet, but now they act as if I'm a, a harlot sent for their pleasure."

She realized she was shaking and desperately tried to stop. It didn't help at all. She knew Loki had noticed her weakness and she could only groan at the knowledge that he'd only tease her for it during her morning visits.

"Calm down," h e commanded as he rubbed her arms. She managed to nod in agreement, still trembling as she leaned heavily against the door. Eir was convinced that she would fall if she tried to stand on her own now.

"You chose a poor time to pay a social visit; it's well after dark and they only saw a pretty woman walking—a rarity in a place such as this. Naturally, only one possibility occurred to them, beasts that they are."

Beasts and monsters just like you, right Loki?

She bit her tongue against the caustic remark and at her lack of response, he continued.

"You must calm yourself immediately and return to your chambers with haste. The longer you stay the worse they will act when you leave."

"I wasn't aware the Prince used such services." She spat the words, overcome with humiliation and emotions she couldn't put name to as she met his eyes for the first time that night. As soon as the words rolled from her tongue, she knew she would regret them sorely.

He seized her wrists, long fingers pressing against her skin hard enough to bruise. His eyes were wide and full of fury, his lips bloodless and pinched—and Eir was afraid.

"How dare you."

"I'm sorry, Loki," she whimpered. "I don't know what I was thinking, I was upset! Please, forgive me." She trembled violently, fear coursing through her body until she was heavy with it. It was a trick, she knew. Making her so frightened was revenge for offending him so- but even knowing the truth, Eir was unable to quell her emotions.

And then he changed before her eyes. His skin darkened to a startling blue-gray and intricate, raised designs flowed over his body like water. But his eyes—they were crimson, a deep bloody red that seemed to pierce through her soul. She was paralyzed, eyes wide as she watched him, panting to catch her breath. She'd never seen anything like it. She hadn't even known it was possible to change forms so drastically…

"Since you brought it up, perhaps I will take advantage of such services. Just- this- once," he purred, pressing her closer to the door with his body, cold as ice and just as unyielding.

But Eir was still in a daze. Despite the obvious differences, the likeness of Loki's new appearance to his old was perfect in every way. How had he created such a thing? Staring into red eyes lurid with emotion, so different from Loki's usual cold emerald hue, Eir reached up to touch his face, wrists still encircled by icy hands. Her fingers traced the markings on his skin, entranced by the savage beauty of the being before her. She had never seen a Frost Giant before, could not recall ever seeing anything claiming to be an accurate rendering of the species. But there was no doubt in her mind that this magic mimicry was the closest she might ever get. This is how a monster should look, she thought.

"I've never heard of such a trick; how did you do that?" Her fear was long forgotten in the face of this new sorcery. "For an illusion it certainly is life-like. How impressive…"

Loki released her wrists as if they'd burned him, staggering back until they were too far apart to touch. Red eyes locked on her face, lips trembling slightly. His strange appearance melted away until he wore his normal form once more. When he spoke, he hardly opened his mouth, the words so quiet that Eir had to strain to hear them.

"There is no trick. It is simply who I am."

What?

The moisture fled from Eir's mouth. She swallowed and licked at her lips, but nothing could counter the awful sensation. "But how…?"

"Let's just say that I was adopted," he said shortly. He grabbed the book he'd been reading before she'd come in and sat down stiffly at the table. "I think you should leave now. Good night."

"But-"

"I said, good night." He didn't looking up from the book, his eyes flying across the page, though his hands shook.

Oh no; not this time, my Lord.

She approached him and folded her arms over her chest. He finally looked up, unable to ignore her any longer.

"What do you want," he snapped.

"The truth," Eir answered, kneeling to sit on the floor before him. She was determined to get her answer, no matter what. She sunk the rest of the way to the floor and crossed her legs beneath her grey dress.

"And who are you to demand the truth?" He closed the book and leaned towards her. "It matters not. If it will satisfy your curiosity enough to leave me in peace, then I will tell you. To make a long story short: Odin found me on Jotunheim, where my real father left me to die. He was so righteous and good, that he brought me here and made me his son. He just happened to forget to mention the truth of who I am, but that's only a minor detail, I'm sure." Loki's expression soured, a razor-edged smirk marring his face. "And so you have it—the story of the monster before you."

"Stop! Stop calling yourself a monster. Actions, not origins, create monsters," Eir said furiously.

"Oh? But so often beginnings are to blame for later mistakes, don't you agree? Besides you've called me a monster yourself. Don't bother to deny it; I know the truth. But perhaps you only mean to say that you still intend to visit me." His voice was cold and arrogant; Eir bristled at his tone and the accusations he flung at her.

"Yes. Yes, I will come. But you're wrong; being a Frost Giant doesn't make you a monster in my eyes. If… If I must have a reason to call you monster, then I need only remind you of your behavior on Midgard. But, even then, somehow I'm sure that you're not as bad as you'd like me to believe."

He didn't respond, only staring at her without expression, as if he tried to read her thoughts. She met his gaze squarely, trying to prove that she'd been completely honest. Her heart and mind raced, but she was determined not to show her nervousness.

After a time, Loki sighed and dropped his gaze to rub at his temples. He didn't admit it, but he couldn't bring himself to believe her. No one could ever think of him as anything but a monster. She was only pretending…

"Go, Lady Eir." It was still a command, but something in his tone had softened. He couldn't help it; even if he tried to be cold and distant, he melted under her defiant gaze, like ice turning to water in the sun. "It's too late for a Lady to be in such places."

She nodded and stood slowly, as if she contemplated an important decision. Abruptly, she leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek, holding her hair back as she did.

"Good night, Prince Loki," she said quietly. Before he could react, she left the room red-faced.

Loki touched his cheek with an inscrutable expression.

What an innocent, stupid female she was…