"Focus!" Loki instructed for what seemed like the billionth time. "If you don't, you'll either put too much into it or not enough! It's a very fine line! And I would prefer not to be blown up because you can't seem to keep your mind from wandering!"

Eyra gritted her teeth and shot him a glare. "I'm not stupid enough to blow us to bits, you know!" They had been at this for hours, and she was exhausted, hungry, and sick and tired of him expecting her to "focus" when he was standing so tantalizingly close to her.

"It has nothing to do with stupidity, and you know full well that's not what I'm getting at," Loki reprimanded her. "But I am not exaggerating when I say that if you don't put enough focus into what you are doing, it could be life threatening!"

"I'm trying!" Eyra exploded, raising the little globe of energy she'd been collecting and flinging it at the ground. Loki gave her an aghast stare. "But how do you expect me to concentrate with you hovering over my shoulder and nitpicking my every move?!"

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath, obviously putting everything he had into not flying off the handle at her. "I think perhaps we have done enough for today," he said calmly.

"Well, it's about bloody time," Eyra muttered grumpily. Her whole body ached, her head was pounding, and her clothes were drenched with sweat. She snatched up a small towel and wiped her face with it before shoving it into Loki's chest and marching across the courtyard.

"Eyra..." he sighed. "Eyra, wait." When she ignored him and continued on her way back into the palace, he walked after her at a brisk pace, easily catching up with her with his long legs. Grabbing her elbow, he pulled her back around to face him. "Eyra." It was clear from his tone of voice that his patience was wearing thin.

"Let go of me, Loki," she insisted, refusing to meet his gaze. "I need to wash up and get a change of clothes."

"Eyra-" he repeated.

"Stop saying that!" She yanked her arm out of his grasp. He stared at her in bewilderment.

"Stop-what...your name?"

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean...I don't know!" She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. I just...I think I'm just tired. I'm going to...I'm just going to go up and...get some rest..."

Loki still looked more hurt and confused than she had ever seen him, but he backed away slightly. "Alright...we'll continue training tomorrow then?"

"Y-yeah...if...if I'm feeling up to it..."

"Right...yes...yes of course..."

Eyra couldn't stand to see the pain in his eyes any longer, so she turned on her heel and hurried back into the palace and up to her chambers. The truth was, she knew exactly what was wrong with her, but she also knew that taking it out on Loki had not been justified. It wasn't his fault, after all. Well, not really.

After peeling off her sopping wet tunic and leggings and scrubbing every inch of her body until she at last felt clean again, Eyra collapsed, face-first, onto her bed with a groan. Tears sprang, unbidden, into her eyes, and, despite her best efforts, a small choking sob escaped her throat. The whirlwind of emotions she had been feeling since she arrived at the palace came pouring out as she gasped and shuddered, curling into the fetal position and clutching tightly at her blankets.

She was, in a phrase, disgusted with herself.

She had forced herself to ignore it until this point, but as Loki had gotten her so worked up and exhausted while, at the same time, making her heart hammer and her spine shiver as he would gently correct her technique, she found herself less and less able to push those feelings to the back of her mind. Her barriers broke, and she was forced to accept that she could not, in good conscience, allow things to continue the way they were.

She was unfaithful. Not in deed, perhaps, but in her mind and in her heart most assuredly. She could no longer deny that she was in love with Loki, and that was simply unacceptable. Every second she spent with him was a risk, not only of dishonoring herself and her family, but of betraying the standard of integrity and character to which she had always held herself. It was absolutely shameful that she had even allowed her feelings to progress this far.

But, oh how her heart ached at the thought of losing him! He was the closest friend she had ever had, and he meant, dare she say it, as much to her as her father. She had never thought she would be able to say that of anyone, but Loki had wormed his way deeper into her heart than she had ever allowed anyone. She knew he felt the same way, but in this case, that only made things worse. If she could pine after him on her own, that would be one thing, but knowing she held his heart as well only made the temptation all the stronger.

Her confusion only grew when she struggled to decide what her father would want her to do. She knew that he would want her to be with Loki because he made her happy, but she also knew that he would want her to remain true to herself and her principles of honesty and morality. She could not refuse to marry Thor, she could not maintain any sort of romantic affiliation with Loki behind his brother's back, and yet she could not be happy married to the brother of the man she loved.

With a shuddering breath, Eyra realized what she had to do. Although the very idea of it caused her heart to squeeze painfully in her chest, she determined that it was the only possible solution. She had to cut off all ties with Loki. Only temporarily, until they could both move on from whatever impossible dreams they had developed. She would do everything within her power to fall in love with Thor, and Loki, she was certain, would be able to easily erase her from his heart. Once all romantic feelings between them had been extinguished, then they could rebuild their friendship on a completely platonic foundation. It was not ideal, but it was the only thing she could think of that would resolve all of the consequences of her actions.

That night at dinner, Eyra carefully avoided Loki's tentative, questioning gaze. Call her a chicken, but she could not bring herself to discuss her decision with him. She assumed he would get the hint soon enough. She thought with an inward sigh of how long of a week it was going to be until Thor came back and offered her some distraction, but she convinced herself that this was all necessary. Loki eventually gave up trying to get her attention and began absently picking at the food on his plate.

Frigga observed this new behavior with concern, and when Eyra excused herself and quietly left to retire for the night, Loki's were not the only eyes that followed her out, grief and confusion reflected in each.

A/N: Aw man! The fun and fluff has come to an abrupt halt! Let the angst and the drama begin! This is by far the shortest chapter I've written, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Please review and let me know what you think!

Deadlythorn1997: I am so glad! Sorry, no tree-climbing incident in this chapter, but never fear! It will come eventually! I do love the chance to send a bit of embarrassment in Loki's direction!

sarahbearalove: Your review made my whole day! I'm sorry you were having a rough time, but I am so glad that I was able to cheer you up! I hope things look up for you soon! Thank you for your feedback and for being so positive!

Dappledwing: Thank you! I love childlike Loki! It might just me, but I have always imagined Loki, before he became all hurt and damaged and angry, to really be something quite a bit like Tom Hiddleston. You just have to get past all the rage and grief in order to see it. But, again, maybe that's just my weirdo interpretation haha!

Anon: Aw shucks, YOU are amazing! :) Aren't they cute? Playful relationships are the best! I think, being the god of mischief and all that, Loki would be a really fun boyfriend. You know, before his psychotic break, as I like to call it...