Over the course of the next few days, even Loki scarcely saw Eyra. She had barricaded herself in her chambers and would not open the door for anyone. Unless one were to catch a glimpse of the scene inside, however, they could not presume to have the faintest idea the state she was in.
The first day, she had been completely numb. During that time, Loki had been able to sneak into the room and coax her into eating a few bites and had read and sung to her in an attempt to distract her from her grief. It had helped for the moment, but by the next day he had been locked out as well. She couldn't bear to have anyone see her as she was. She merely paced her room day in and day out, unable to eat or sleep or even stop the constant tremors which shook her body. Every once in a while, she would collapse onto the floor, losing all ability to hold back her lamentations any longer. She would rock back and forth, clutching at her hair, gasping for breath, and heaving until her head pounded and her stomach threatened to release what little contents it had. It wasn't until the day of the funeral that she forced herself to wash up, get dressed, and face the outside world.
Loki had been beside himself with worry since he'd last seen her but, sensing that she needed space for the time being, had continually reminded himself that she would come to him when she was ready. Nothing could have prepared him for the condition in which he next saw her however. He had been making his way down to the funeral when he had heard her faint voice call out his name. His heart giving a hopeful leap, he turned around to see Eyra slowly making her way toward him. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her.
She was white as a sheet, her eyes and cheeks were sunken in, and it was clear that she had lost at least a good five pounds over the past three days. The sparkle of mischief and cheer that normally resided in her eyes had been replaced by a dull, dead look, and they didn't seem to be seeing much of anything. Loki could tell by the way she was walking that she was incredibly weak, and when she tried to force a weak smile for him, it turned out to be a pained grimace. When she came to stand in front of him, he could see that her gown was too large for her now, hanging off of er shoulders and exposing her collarbones, which protruded much more than they had before. Loki's heart ached as he took all of this in.
"Oh, Eyra..." he murmured, stepping forward to pull her into his arms. She backed away, however, shaking her head quickly.
"Please don't." Her voice was rough and trembled ever so slightly as she spoke. At the hurt look on Loki's face, she hastened to explain herself. "I don't think I can handle it right now. I just know that I'll..." she trailed off and bit her lip, looking away from him.
"Break down," Loki finished softly.
Eyra nodded. "Perhaps...perhaps if you were to come see me tonight..." she whispered uncertainly. "If...if you wanted to..."
"Of course," he agreed immediately. "You need only ask, my darling. You know that."
The corners of her lips turned upward, though it was almost imperceptible. "I do. Thank you."
Each sensed at that point that not another word needed to be spoken. Loki simply offered his arm to her to escort her to the funeral. She accepted it readily, neither of them caring at that point if a few eyebrows were raised. About halfway there, however, they were met by Brynjar, who had come to walk his sister down himself. Loki quietly slipped away as the two siblings embraced and cried together over their shared loss.
Later that afternoon, Eyra and Bryn walked slowly through the gardens, arm in arm. They were silent for several minutes as they each tried to allow the events of the past few days to sink in. Brynjar did, however, soon lead her to sit next to him on a bench, where he spoke with an urgency that made Eyra's pulse quicken with anxiety.
"Eyra." He held her hands in his and looked into her eyes seriously. "I have debated much over whether or not to tell you these things, but I have come to the conclusion that I must do so in order to keep you safe."
Eyra's brow furrowed, and she looked at him fearfully. "Whatever do you mean?"
Bryn took a deep breath. "When Az and I left here a few weeks ago, we both promised you that we were going to work as hard as we could figure something out so that you could break off your betrothal to Prince Thor. Do you remember this?"
"Well, yes, of course," Eyra affirmed, her confusion growing further with each word he spoke. "I've wondered for weeks what you possibly could have..."
"Just know that we meant it," Bryn cut her off. "We had resolved to try to convince Inghard that you were not happy in your current position and to ask him if there was anything he could possibly do to alter the arrangement with the Allfather. Although none of us have ever been particularly fond of Inghard, he has never given us any evidence to the idea of his being unreasonable. So, for weeks, we read up on everything we could find on the tradition of royal arranged marriages, writing down anything we found that could even possibly be beneficial when we did confront him about it. Az, especially, was determined to make this work out for you, no matter what he had to do." Suddenly, Bryn let out a chuckle. "He said to me one day, 'Bryn, I'll marry that blasted prince myself if it means that Eyra doesn't have to. Do you think they'll have me instead?' I laughed and told him that it was doubtful, and he grumbled and went right back to the record he was reading."
Eyra giggled in spite of herself. "That does sound just like him." Tears filled her eyes once more as she remembered with fondness how tenacious Asmund could be.
"Anyway, one night, when we were just starting to feel that we had enough of a case to bring to Inghard, Az came into my room in a sort of panic. He was spewing all sorts of rubbish, not making a whole lot of sense. No matter how many times I told him to calm down and tell me what was going on, he couldn't seem to compose himself. All I could catch before he left was that he had discovered something he wasn't supposed to. Something bad. He kept mentioning you and your engagement and your relationship with Loki and saying that we had to do something. I told him that I knew we did and reminded him that that's exactly what we had been trying to achieve for weeks. I think he eventually grew frustrated that I wasn't understanding because he left even more agitated than when he'd arrived." The pain was evident in Bryn's voice as he recalled this moment with his brother. "I should have gone after him. I should have just trusted that he knew what he was doing. But instead I just shook my head and decided to figure it out in the morning when he had hopefully cleared his head a bit. It's the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life."
Eyra swallowed hard, her breathing becoming ragged as she began to fit the pieces together. "You mean...that was..." Bryn nodded, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He was shaking, and his voice was thick with emotion as the weight of his guilt came crashing down on him.
"I woke up early the next morning to Mother crying and telling me that Asmund was ill and that it wasn't looking good. It was nearly too late by the time I got there. He looked awful, Eyra. I've never seen a man look so sick. He was delirious too, but..." He paused, taking a deep breath.
"But?" Eyra had tears streaming down her face.
"I believe a part of him was still there...he...the last words he spoke...were, 'Eyra. You have to warn her.' Then he was just sort of...gone..."
Eyra's heart threatened to burst from her chest. "W-warn me about what?" she managed to choke out through her tears and her dread.
Brynjar shook his head, grief-stricken. "I don't know," he whispered. "I'm doing everything I can to figure it out, but...I just don't know. But Eyra. Please watch out for yourself. Take every precaution you can. I don't know what it is that we're dealing with here, but I find myself incapable of believing this to be a coincidence. Whatever information Az found out...I am certain that he died for it." His voice shook with fury and anguish. "Whoever did this to our brother...they're dangerous, Eyra, and...please...I can't lose you as well...it would kill me..."
Eyra wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her tears flowing freely, though she fought as hard as she could to mask the terror she was feeling. "I'll be careful, Bryn. But you must promise me that you will do the same. If Asmund truly did die because of what he learned, who is to say the same won't happen to you?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Bryn promised her. "I won't let them get to either of us. We will sort this out, Eyra-Bear. We'll both be safe, and you will be with Loki, and we will all be happy. It is what Asmund would want for us."
The two siblings held each other and cried, both out of fear and heartache. So caught up in their feelings were they, however, that neither of them noticed the pair of sinister eyes which watched them from the shadows, nor the keen ears which heard every word that was spoken between the two.
A/N: Oh boy. This is getting serious. On a completely different note, I have got the worst case of Poison Ivy! It's awful! A word of advice, steer clear of that stuff! (I wasn't even looking for it because I was having such a grand time tromping through the Redwoods and the Oregon Coast a couple weeks ago, but I sure wish I had!) Kind of a random thought, but I just...ugh. That is all. Anywho, thanks for reading! I am having so much fun writing this!
sayrahsunshine: Definitely a good theory. The inheritance theory is interesting. :) Anyway, thank you for reviewing and for sticking around! It makes my heart happy!
Okumura Ichigo: Haha I'm so sorry! I guess you will just have to wait and find out. ;) Thank you for always reviewing! I love it, and I am most definitely having fun writing! :)
dukechick79: I've never been overly fond of Inghard. He's kind of a jerk. :) And I'm glad that it doesn't hurt when I take a bit longer to update! Thank you for your support!
Snow Shadow 17: Right?! He's never exactly been Father of the Year in my opinion...Haha thanks for reviewing! You are fabulous!
LilweenGalatrass: You are actually pretty warm with one of your theories, but not quite exactly there. That's all I'm saying though. ;) Thank you for your reviews! I love them!
anon: Aw you say the sweetest things! Thank you so much for every single one of your reviews! Every time I read them, I just can't stop smiling! And yes, I am going to miss Asmund, but at least we still have Bryn for now! :) Thanks again!
chyanne200: Inghard should be sentenced to death regardless of whether or not he's the one responsible. ;) Haha thank you for your reviews!
Queen Amaryllis Kay: I'm so sorry to hear that you feel that way, though it does seem a bit late in the story to do any major character alterations. ;) I did sort of intend for her to be like that though, given that I started this story as sort of a twisted kind of fairytale, so she was supposed to be kind of your typical Disney princess, if you will. Though Kleptomania would certainly have made things...interesting! :) Thanks for your feedback!
Ani the Fangirl: Haha I LOVE the Meningitis theory! It is totally not right, but I did not even think about anything like that! (I should have though, considering Meningitis was basically my worst fear for about four years of my life.) I love it! Anyway, thank you so much for your positive review! It means a lot to me! :)