"Do not forget to keep your heels down!" Brody yelled from across the arena.

Ellie tried to sit tall in the saddle as she guided Aloris around the curve and back down the far edge. Try as she might, riding was not her forte. Aloris, however, helped make her look better than she actually was. The monstrous grey beast moved gracefully beneath her and carried her in big sweeping arcs around the arena. Ellie let out a sigh as they shifted leads and moved back in the other direction.

"Heels down, my lady!"

"My frickin heals are down," Ellie mumbled to herself.

How did she find herself in this predicament? Living on Alfheim was definitely an upgrade from her former life on Earth, but she was still fuzzy on the details of how she got here. All she could remember was a large robot coming to her home town and destroying it and then her personal guard appeared to bring her here. Why had she agreed to come?

Ellie enjoyed learning to ride, magic and defense lessons, but something was always nagging at the back of her mind. There was a blank spot and she desperately tried to remember what was missing.

"How is she doing?" Anson asked as he came to stand next to the fence.

Brody watched as Ellie and Aloris curved back around to the other side of the arena. "Her riding skills are slowly improving."

"You know that is not what I meant," Anson glanced over at Brody.

"The queen is different somehow," Brody admitted. "I cannot say exactly what it is, but there is a definite change in her."

"It is as I feared," Anson shook his head.

"What is going on?" Brody asked turning to Anson.

"I do not know for certain, but I believe it does not bode well for us all," Anson said as he watched Ellie ride.

"Tell me what you know, my friend, maybe I can be of some help," Brody put his hand on Anson's shoulder.

"I would not even know how to begin to explain, but if you are willing to help." Anson leaned towards Brody and began to explain the best he could.

Ellie came around the corner and looked towards Brody. Having not heard him yelling instructions for a while, she hoped she could beg for a break. Her behind was hurting and she needed to stretch her legs. As she rode in his direction, she saw his head bent together with Anson's.

Pulling to a stop in front of them, she asked, "What are you two conspiring about?"

The two men flew apart looking slightly guilty.

"Why would you think that we are conspiring?" Anson asked trying to look innocent.

"Well, any men, with their heads together, usually indicates they are plotting something," Ellie said with a smile.

Anson looked at the queen and was surprised to see her smiling. It had become an unusual sight in the last couple weeks. Ever since Asgard and Loki had been erased from her memory, Ellie had become detached. She would do what was required, yet she seemed to have stopped enjoying her favorite things. The only positive thing was she no longer remembered what happened to her on Jotunheim.

"We were just discussing how your training was coming along," Brody said leaning back on the fence.

"Whatever. Brody, can I stop for a bit?" Ellie asked shifting in the saddle. "I need a break."

"Do a cool down walk and we will end for today," Brody agreed.

"Thanks," she breathed and turned Aloris back out into the arena.

Once she was out of ear shot, Anson continued, "See, she is not the same without him."

"So, she loved this Loki?" Brody questioned.

"With all her heart."

"Then how could she be made to forget him?"

"I do not know, but there is something dark and ominous about this," Anson said sounding disheartened. "What surprises me is that Loki has not yet made an appearance."

"Maybe, what affects her, affects him as well," Brody said.

"That may be."

"Or he may not be able to enter our realm. There has been talk of something dark in the outskirts," Brody said. "At first I thought it to be superstition, but it may be more real than I had believed."

"I am not sure, but I feel this threat may be from within as well as around," Anson grabbed Brody's arm. "I need to protect Ellie, no matter what the cost."

"Why do you feel so strongly about her?" Brody asked. "If she loves another….."

"It is not like that…" Anson paused, shaking his head. "She saved my life." Looking over at Ellie, he continued, "more than once."

"Well then, my friend, I will do what I can to keep a close eye on her as well," Brody said clapping Anson on the shoulder.

…

Aloris followed closely behind Ellie as she made her way back into the stable. She loved that she did not even have to hold onto his lead because Aloris followed her everywhere she went. The same could be said for Baine and Fawkes who walked in front. Ellie stopped just outside of Aloris' stall and the two dogs took up their usual positions on either side of the hallway. The massive grey stallion stayed in position as Ellie took off his halter and laid it across the saddle.

"You did very well today, my queen," Brody said as Ellie unstrapped the saddle.

"Thank you," Ellie replied as she hefted the saddle off the horses back and carried it to the tack room.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked as she emerged.

"Tired and sore I guess," she answered grabbing a brush.

Aloris stood tall and his eyes started to close as Ellie brushed his coat to a nice sheen. Brody just stood and watched her as she worked. He had really noticed the change in her over the last month. Ellie was no longer the spirited young woman she used to be. Not only had her personality changed, but her pallor as well. Ellie looked unwell. Only to prove him right, Ellie stopped and seemed to be short of breath.

Brody stepped over and took the brush. "Go inside, my lady. I will take care of Aloris for you."

Ellie opened her mouth to object, but her skin paled and she closed her mouth. With a slight nod of her head she turned and made her way out of the stable.

"Watch her closely, boys," Brody said to Baine and Fawkes.

The two barked in acknowledgement and took off after Ellie.

….

Frigga cautiously stepped towards Loki's door. Over the last month, they had seen less and less of him. After a while he stopped coming down altogether. She would have trays sent up to him and they would occasionally disappear, but she feared for his sanity now that he had lost all connection with Ellie.

Thor had informed his parents about how Loki had some form of a mental connection with Ellie, but it was severed. Frigga hoped that Loki was not slipping back into his old self. His brother would come every day to try and talk with him, but Loki would turn Thor away or ignore him altogether. He would attempt do the same with her, but she would not let him this time.

Frigga knocked on the door, as usual there was no reply. Trying the door, she found it magically locked. Smiling to herself, Frigga waved her hand past the handle. There was a quiet click and she pushed the door open. Silently stepping through, she did not know what to expect, but it definitely was not what she saw before her eyes.

The room was destroyed. Black scorch marks could be seen on all the walls and even the ceiling. Furniture was smashed to pieces and the bed lay in a crumpled heap. Trays of untouched food lay in a pile near the wall. Frigga's eyes scanned the dim room, but she did not see Loki anywhere. Immediately her mind feared the worst. That Loki had left. Her shoulders slumped sad that she had lost her son once again.

"What do you want, Mother?" Loki's gravelly voice said from behind her.

Frigga's heart lifted, but immediately sunk when she turned around. Loki stood next to the door looking pale and thin. His clothes were rumpled and he looked a mess.

"Oh, Loki," Frigga breathed as she stepped towards him.

Loki held up his hand, "Stop."

"Loki, I…."

"I know why you are here, Mother," Loki said as he pushed off the wall. "I do not need you."

"I came to make sure you are well. We have not seen you as of late," Frigga paused. "I came in hopes of encouraging you to come down."

Loki laughed. "Why would I come down? You send me all the food that I could possibly need." Loki motioned towards the trays near the wall.

Frigga looked at the trays. "Come down to dinner tonight?"

"No, I have plenty right here."

She could smell that the food was rotting where it lay.

"Loki," Frigga shook her head, "you need to treat yourself better than this."

"Better than what?!" Loki bellowed. "Is this not what I deserve? After all the trouble that I have caused, is this not the punishment that I deserve? To have happiness dangled in front of my face and then have it ripped away! A Frost Giant castaway that is not wanted by anyone!"

"Loki," Frigga breathed out. "You know that is not true."

Loki turned away from his mother. "Ellie has been gone for months. Not once has she tried to contact me."

"Thor told me about your mental connection and how it was broken, maybe if you tried again." Frigga tried to say gently.

"I have tried again!" Loki yelled. "Again and again! Over and over and it is killing me!"

Frigga stepped back in shock.

"I will continue trying every day until it finally kills me because there is nothing else for me to do!"

"Maybe if I helped…." Frigga said moving towards Loki.

"There is nothing for any one of you to do! I am on my own in this as I always have been!"

Loki's eyes began to blaze with madness. Frigga could see that Loki was truly beginning to lose his grip on sanity. Taking the last few steps towards him, she brought her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. The look of shock that crossed his face made Frigga smile to herself knowing she knocked him right out of his stupidity.

"You have never been alone. You have failed to realize that there is anyone who is willing to help you," Frigga said sternly. "Now maybe if you could pull your head out of dark places, we could find a resolution to your problem."

Loki looked at his mother unsure of how to respond. He knew that she was right. His mind always went to the negative whenever bad things happened. Frigga was thankfully here to knock some sense into him like she would as a child.

"Now clean yourself up and come down to dinner with me," Frigga said taking a step towards him.

"What is wrong with the way I look?" he asked as he ran his hands through his greasy hair.

Frigga looked around the room and then back to him. "You do fit in with the surroundings."

The two just looked at each other and laughed. Frigga was so happy to hear that sound come from her son. Loki had not laughed since Ellie had disappeared into the bifrost.

"I have missed that sound, my son," Frigga said as she grabbed his hands. "Hopefully I will hear much more in the near future. Now clean up and I will be back shortly."

Loki nodded his head in reply.

"I would hug you, but I fear the smell." As Frigga walked away she called over her shoulder, "I will have another room prepared for you while we have this room…..torn down and rebuilt."

Looking after his mother as she left the room, Loki shook his head. Leave it to his ever observant mother to knock some sense into him. She was right about him. Always turning to the worst case scenario whenever things did not work to his advantage.

Turning to the washroom Loki began to peel off his dirty clothes.

….

Ellie managed to drag her butt back into the palace and up to her chambers without delay. She was thankful that she didn't have to talk to anyone because her body was so exhausted and she just did not feel well. All she wanted was a bath and her bed. Tonight she would skip dinner knowing she couldn't fake being pleasant. As she made her way down the hallway towards her chamber doors, voices floated in from the balcony near her doors.

"Must be Kara and Fiore'," she whispered to herself and then tried to sneak her way into her room.

"I don't know what else we can possibly do," Kara said. "I try to do what I can, attempting to not be obvious, but things are just getting worse. I fear that we are losing."

Ellie wanted to step around the corner and say, "Well if you meet in the open like this….." but she was stopped short.

"I know," Anson replied. "I have been keeping my eyes open for any sign, but their tracks are too well hidden."

Anson?

"The word from the borders is real," Fiore' added. "I have spoken with many who have firsthand experience."

Fiore'?

So this was not one of Kara and Fiore's little trysts, but what the hell were they talking about?

"I need to find a way out," Anson whispered.

"You are the captain of the guard, your disappearance would be noticed," Fiore' stated.

What? Where the hell would Anson need to go? The conversation made absolutely no sense to Ellie as she hid around the corner.

"I know, but if I can get out and get to Asgard, maybe I can get to him and bring him here," Anson replied.

Anson wants to get to Asgard? Who is Asgard and why does he want to bring this guy here? Ellie couldn't take it anymore and moved towards the door.

"It would be treason if you left," Fiore' said.

"Possibly," Anson admitted, "but only if I fail."

Ellie stopped. For some reason she got a feeling that she should not let them know she was there. A whisper in the back of her mind told her that she needed to go into her chambers and keep her mouth shut. Silently moving towards her door, she checked to see that nobody had spotted her and then slipped into her chambers.

Hurriedly she moved into the washroom to get herself into the bath before Kara came into the room. Stripping off her clothes and then sliding into the huge "tub," Ellie soaked in the warmth of the water. No matter how tired she felt, or how sick, the water always made her feel better. Lying in the cradle, she let the heat and the smell of the trees around, lull her. Before she realized it, Kara woke her.

"Did you enjoy your riding lesson today?"

"It was alright. Aloris is an amazing horse," Ellie said as she moved to climb out of the bath. "He makes me look better than I really am."

"Your animals love you," Kara smiled.

As Ellie wrapped herself in her robe, she saw Baine and Fawkes lying near the door.

"Why do they do that?"

"Have you never had a dog before?" Kara asked.

"No, but I always wanted one," Ellie replied.

"Not only do the animals choose, they also choose in what respect they take care of their owners," Kara explained as she bent down to pet them. "They are your protectors and friends. I think they would do anything if they felt that you were threatened."

"Well, then thankfully there is no threat," Ellie said as she tightened her robe and moved back into her bedroom.

Kara shook her head. She wished Ellie knew what was really going on around her. If only she still had her memories, then maybe Ellie would not be facing the dark days ahead.