"Astrid," Thor cleared his throat the a few days later at breakfast. Eyra jumped and whipped her head to give him her full attention. She had been focused on trying to pick up even the smallest bite, but each time she did, the food on her plate seemed to rearrange itself as though it had only been an illusion. Loki was keeping his face carefully stoic from across the table, but Eyra could see the mischief dancing in his eyes.

"Yes, Thor?" She responded politely, shooting Loki a subtle warning glance.

"I have hardly seen you at all the past couple of days. Where have you been?" Eyra's mouth hung open as she struggled to come up with some sort of excuse for her absence. Luckily, Frigga came to her rescue.

"She has been with me much of the time, Thor. I do apologize for stealing your betrothed from you so frequently, but I find myself rather enchanted by my future daughter-in-law." She gave Eyra a kind smile.

"Asmund and I are to blame as well, Your Highness," Brynjar spoke up from Eyra's right. "We know we have to leave in a few days, so I fear we may have become a bit selfish with our sister's time."

Odin gave a hearty laugh. "It seems nearly everyone at this table is fighting for time with Lady Astrid, not to mention your friends, Thor. Next it will be Loki trying to get his fair share as well."

Eyra choked slightly, but Loki played it cool, smirking around the table. "It wouldn't be much of a fight then, I suspect." He jutted his chin cockily. "After all, it is well known that I am the best looking and most charming of the sons of Odin." Everyone erupted in laughter except Eyra, who only shook her head at him with a smile.

"Well, Eyra sure thinks so," Bryn muttered next to her. She elbowed him discreetly in the ribs, and he gave her an innocent grin.

Thor slid an arm around Eyra's shoulders, a sight from which Loki carefully averted his eyes, becoming suddenly very interested in a piece of bacon on his plate. Eyra managed to make her grimace look like a smile as Thor pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "I understand that you would like to spend time with your brothers, Astrid, and it pleases me greatly that you and Mother are getting along so well. We have forever to do things together, so forgive me for even suggesting that you put me first during this time."

Eyra gave him an understanding smile and turned back to her food which, she noticed, no longer seemed to move about her plate.

Eyra walked about the palace in search of Loki. She had spent the morning with her brothers, as had become the routine, but her Romeo was not in any of the usual places she could find him. She had searched the library, the gardens, and his chambers, and she was growing slightly worried.

Then, she spotted a figure sitting with his back to her in one of the courtyards. With a relieved smile, she crept up silently and wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her lips to his cheek. "Afternoon, my lord." She slid around the bench and seated herself next to him with a grin, feeling him immediately form an illusion for anyone else who happened to walk by.

"Hello, Eyra." His own smile did not reach his eyes, and Eyra frowned at his neglect to use any of his pet names for her.

"What's wrong?" She questioned in concern, placing her hand on his arm.

He shook his head. "It is nothing of import."

"Well, if it is bothering you, then it is important to me!" Eyra insisted. Loki sighed and said nothing for a moment, but when he did speak, his voice was laced with bitterness.

"As important as Thor?" Eyra's brow furrowed in confusion.

"As...I'm sorry, what?" When Loki said nothing, but his jaw clenched slightly, understanding dawned on her face. "Hang on...are you...jealous?" Still, no response. Eyra couldn't help but give a short burst of laughter. "Why are you jealous? I spend every possible second with you!"

"But you are engaged to him," Loki reminded her. "And the two of you seemed quite cozy at breakfast this morning..."

Eyra closed her eyes and sighed. "Loki..." He looked determinedly away from her. "Loki, look at me." Still, he refused. With a frown, she reached a hand up to his cheek, drawing his gaze toward her. "I would never do this with Thor," she smiled at him, speaking softly. "Or this," she reached up with her other hand to run her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, a relaxed smile forming on his face. "Nor would I ever do this," she slowly climbed onto his lap, running her hands lightly over his chest. "He never gets to touch me like this," she pulled at his hands and placed them on her waist. "I would certainly never do this," she pressed her lips to his gently, pulling away after a moment and feeling relieved to see the tender smile on his face as he looked at her. "I know things don't look promising right now," she confessed. "But I promised you that we would figure something out, and I meant it. I am not going to marry your brother. I will make certain of it."

Loki drew her close to him and buried his face in her neck. "I believe you." His voice was muffled by her hair. "I do. Forgive me, Darling."

Eyra smiled and closed her eyes, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "There is nothing to forgive. Valhalla knows I've caused you plenty of grief over this issue." Loki chuckled and pulled back slightly, gazing at her with a kind of love and adoration that made her stomach do flips and cartwheels.

"I love you," he murmured, pulling her in for another long, slow kiss. Eyra giggled against his lips and deepened it eagerly, when suddenly Thor's loud voice met their ears.

"Loki!"

The lovers jumped apart, and Eyra was suddenly very grateful for Loki's skill in illusion. She slid off of his lap and whispered, "It's time for me to meet your mother for tea anyway. I'll find you later, yes?"

Loki nodded and pecked her lips one last time before she left. He watched her leave and did not let his illusion drop until she was out of sight. It took Thor only a few seconds to find him after that.

"Brother!" He hailed, coming to sit next to him. "I have a matter of...Loki?" Loki looked at him questioningly as he stared at him. Then, a wide smile spread across his brother's face. "I have had my suspicions brother, and I do believe I have been correct."

"What are you talking about Thor?" Loki asked him wearily.

"You have been quite cheerful of late, and nearly impossible to find. Now, I finally do find you, and your face is flushed, your hair mussed and your lips slightly swollen. You have found yourself a maiden!" Thor concluded delightedly.

Loki stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh don't play that game with me Loki, I know you better than that!" Thor laughed. "Now, come. What is her name?"

Loki was silent for a moment before answering truthfully. "Eyra. Her name is Eyra." Thor's brow furrowed.

"That name does not sound familiar to me. It sounds like a peasant's name. Where did you meet this Eyra?"

"I went walking in the woods and happened upon her," Loki laughed at the memory. "She was singing and dancing, and I managed to startle her into falling into a river."

Thor chuckled. "I must meet this maiden! What does she look like?" Loki cleared his throat.

"I think that is enough questioning for now! You came here to speak to me of something. What is it?"

Thor frowned at him, but sighed. "It is Astrid." Loki perked up. "She is to be my wife, and I do care for her! I do! But...not in the way that I should as her betrothed. I have scarcely seen her over the past several days, and yet I do not miss her! It does not bother me that she would prefer to spend her time in the company of Mother and her brothers."

"Have you spoken to Father of this?" Loki inquired hopefully.

"I have," Thor frowned. "He told me that his deal with Lord Inghard cannot be broken. I do not know why. After all, he is the Allfather. But he seemed incredibly certain that the consequences would be severe."

Loki felt his heart sink. "Perhaps there is a way that no one has thought of yet..."

"I surely hope you are right, Brother. I do not think she loves me either. In fact, I fear that her heart may belong to another. Perhaps someone from before she came here."

Loki hid a smile and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "I believe these things shall work out in the end. In the meantime, I will spare no effort to think of a solution to this dilemma."

Thor beamed at his brother. "Thank you, Loki. You have always been one on whom I can rely in everything."

Loki merely smiled.

Eyra and Frigga sat in the gardens, laughing gaily. Eyra had become quite at ease with the queen since they had started having tea regularly. As they were finishing up, however, Loki wandered into the garden and inclined his head toward the two most important women in his life. Eyra suddenly gasped, a wide smile breaking over her face.

"Queen Frigga, I have been meaning to ask you something!"

"Yes, what is it, child?" Frigga smiled.

Eyra shot a devilish look at Loki, who was walking about pretending not to be listening. But she knew better. "A few weeks ago, Prince Loki seemed...concerned that you may have told me a certain story." Loki's back stiffened, and Eyra stifled a giggle. "I believe he called it, 'the tree-climbing incident?'"

Frigga let out a musical laugh. "Ah, yes. The tree-climbing incident." Loki glared at her. "That is a wonderful story! You see, when Loki and Thor were children, they liked to visit a certain river and go swimming. They would go there often, and Thor soon started bringing his friends, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. Of course Lady Sif could not come since their antics required the removal of every scrap of clothing they wore." Eyra was grinning, and Loki's frown was deepening with each word that came out of his mother's mouth. "On one particular instance, Fandral got the idea in his head that it would be great fun to steal Loki's clothes and run off with them. Thor and the others agreed readily, and they tricked their youngest companion into trying to hold his breath under water for as long as he could. When he resurfaced, however, he found that his friends, along with each of his garments, had disappeared!" Eyra tittered in amusement, and Loki's face quite closely resembled the color of Eyra's hair. "Feeling quite annoyed with them, he marched right out of the river and in the direction of the palace. Unfortunately, Volstagg had thought up an even more delightful spin for their scheme. You see, they had told Sif that they had lost little Loki and sent her out looking for him!" Eyra guffawed, and Loki shot her a glare. "As Loki trudged back home, he heard Sif's voice calling his name and getting closer rather quickly. Now, he could not have her see him in his current state, so he panicked and did what he thought he had to do! He climbed the nearest tree!"

"Mother, please," Loki begged, embarrassment written clearly across his face as Eyra laughed loudly at the mental image. Frigga shot him a fond smile, but continued despite his pleas.

"Now, when Sif was out of sight, Loki, congratulating himself on his cleverness in evading her, attempted to climb down from the tree. Unfortunately, he managed to lose his balance and fall. Luckily, or unluckily I suppose, depending on how you look at it, his ankle got wrapped up in a vine, which caught him, but refused to let go. By this time, it was growing late, and I was growing worried. Thor, too, had become quite concerned and came to me with tears streaming down his face and told me what he and his friends had done. We immediately sent out a search party, which consisted of nearly all the servants in the palace. After a couple of hours of scouring the woods, we heard someone call out that they had found him! Relief washed through all of us, and everyone rushed to the spot from which we had heard the news! Imagine our astonishment when we came across the sight of a buck naked Loki hanging by his ankle from a vine, face red both from all the blood which had rushed to it and from humiliation at half the realm seeing him in the nude!"

Eyra had tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard. Loki's face was very much the same color it had been at that moment all those years ago, and he vowed not to speak to either of them ever again. They simply laughed even harder, and he rolled his eyes at them and stalked away to his chambers.

"Oops," Eyra giggled. "I suppose I had better go break him of that resolve." She quickly excused herself and hurried to follow him. She no longer knocked when she wanted to enter his room, and when she opened the door, she found him sitting grumpily in an armchair in front of the fire. She smiled. "Loki..."

He didn't even acknowledge her presence. With an amused sigh, she walked behind him and began rubbing his shoulders, and, leaning forward, she whispered in his ear, "You can't ignore me forever, you know." The clenching of his fists was the only sign that he'd even heard her. She pressed her lips to his neck and pivoted until she was straddling his lap, placing light kisses along his jaw and throat. His breathing quickened, and Eyra smiled, massaging his chest gently through his shirt. Finally, he let out a groan of defeat and pleasure and grabbed her hips tightly, yanking them toward him with a pleased smile as Eyra gasped.

"Temptress," he growled in her ear before locking his lips onto hers. Eyra let out a breathy laugh before sighing as they both lost themselves in the tender touches of the other.

A/N: Well, there you have it folks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!

Okumura Ichigo: Oh, you have no idea the drama that awaits poor Loki and Eyra. It's going to be fabulous! ;) Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews!

chyanna200: Right? Haha I'm so glad that you like his character! What a babe. ;)

Deductions-of-Sherlolly: Aha! I understood that reference! And, yes, I do think Eyra has made the right choice here. Well, it seems so for now at least...muahahahaha! ;)