Loki sat across from Frida at the rectangular table in the simple, small dining room of his grandmother's cottage. It was a far cry from the grandiose dining hall of Asgard's palace. Revna entered from an adjoining room carrying two plates and sat one of them before Frida, the other in front of Loki.

"Thank you." Loki said to Revna politely as he looked down upon the contents of the plate. It looked quite appealing, yet Loki found his appetite, as it had been as of late, to be sparse. Revna turned to reenter the room from which she'd come.

"Are you not joining us?" Frida asked Revna.

"I didn't think it proper for myself to share a table with the son of the Allfather." Revna replied.

"Nonsense. I'm the mother of his Queen and you dine with me most every evening." Frida said.

"I am but a man as any other." Loki told her. "It's not as if I am to be a king." Loki added glumly as he took the fork besides his plate in hand.

"If you wish it." Revna said.

"I do." Frida said, gesturing to the empty seat at the side of the table. Revna turned to retrieve her own plate from the next room from which she'd entered. Frida looked across the table to Loki. He had stabbed a small morsel of food with the fork but had yet to lift it, staring down at it.

"Someday you will appreciate the great gift your father has given you." Frida said.

"And what would that be?" Loki asked cynically.

"Your freedom. A throne is a ponderous thing. Once seated upon it you are never again free to be who and what you wish to be. You must be what others want you to be, what they need you to be. A king is thought to have more freedom than anyone but that is the greatest lie of all. He is but a slave." Frida told him. Loki continued to stare at his plate contemplating her words as Revna returned to the room, plate in hand, taking her place at the table.

"That may be so, but it is a shackle I would gladly bear in light of the alternative. I know my brother far better than he knows himself. He is rash, impulsive, reckless. He acts first and asks questions later. I fear what is to come once he takes the throne." Loki responded before finally lifting the morsel of food from his plate to his mouth.

"You have just described Odin himself at one time. We grow wise from our mistakes, our failures. Our triumphs teach us nothing. Trust me when I say that there could be a far greater danger to Asgard and the realms than your brother seated on its throne." Frida said, her voice ominous. Loki looked to her curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"Only what I said. Nothing more and nothing less. Don't fret. Let your brother have his glory. Your day will come." Frida said, returning her attention to the meal before her. Loki attempted to do the same, lifting another forkful. He glanced across the table to Frida, pondering her words, unable to shake the feeling they had engendered in him, that there was something more behind them.

That evening, long after the sun had slid below the horizon, darkness falling over Asgard, Loki stood in front of the burning cauldron in the sitting room of the cottage, staring down into the flames as if in a trance. Revna approached him, standing behind him in silence for a moment before Loki sensed her presence, turning from the cauldron.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. Frida...your grandmother wishes to see you before she retires for the night."

"My mother gave me the impression that my grandmother was quite ill. However, she seems to be faring well considering her age, at least from what I've seen."

"Your mother spoke truth. As I said when you arrived, she had a good day today. Those days are becoming fewer. More than once she has asked me to assist her to join your grandfather in Valhalla. I have of course refused to do so. She often talks of a darkness falling over Asgard."

"A darkness?"

"Yes. She will say no more, only that she wishes not to be here when it comes. As I said, she is not always herself, her mind sometimes goes astray for a time. Your room is ready. I hope that you sleep well. I will return in the morning." Revna said.

"Thank you. Goodnight." Loki said.

"Goodnight." Revna said before she made her way to the door and exited the cottage.

Loki pondered what Revna had told him, what she had revealed to him of his grandmother's fears. Perhaps she was right and they were the product of an aged and addled mind...but then did he not fear the same for Asgard with his brother on the throne? His mother and grandmother were descended from a long line of witches, and witches had the ability to see into the future, or at least possible futures, glimpses anyway. Why had she requested his presence in her last days?

A lamp burned on the bedside table of his grandmother's bedroom where also sat a pitcher and a glass. Pouring water from the pitcher into the glass, Loki sat it near the edge of the table within her reach before pulling the blankets up farther over the elderly woman in the bed, her hair now plaited in one long plait down her back. She smiled at him, though he could see the fatigue in her eyes.

"Goodnight, amma." Loki said as he bent down, kissing her cheek. He felt her reach out and take his hand. "Pleasant dreams. I will see you in the morning."

"I am so glad that you are here. I feared you would not come. Perhaps there is hope yet." Frida said.

"What do you mean? Hope for what?" Loki asked, puzzled.

"Not for what. For who. For you. For them. You must save them." she said.

"Save who? I don't understand." Loki asked, still confused.

"Asgard." Frida replied. "Thor….he must not take the throne….if he does all is lost, not only here...the other realms...Midgard…the universe…."

"Trouble yourself no further tonight. We will speak of it tomorrow. You must rest." Loki said. Was this what Revna was referring to when she spoke of Frida's mind going astray? Or was he right after all about the danger of Thor on the throne? Either way, it was clear that she needed rest and the time for that conversation was not the present moment. Loki extinguished the lamp.

Loki walked through Odin's vault in the palace of Asgard, perusing the treasures secured there. Finally he reached that which he had come for. Sitting on the pedestal before him, a blue glow emanating from it, rested the Casket of Ancient Winters. He reached both hands out towards it….

"Do you truly wish to know?" he heard Frida's voice say though he could not see her. It seemed to echo from every direction. "There will be no going back. Everything will change." she said.

"I must know. I must know why." Loki said.

Just as Loki was about to put his hands upon the relic he found himself jolted out of the dream by a piercing scream. His eyes flying open, he looked up to see a towering figure hovering above him, it's long arm reaching out towards him in the darkness. Just as its hand was about to close around his neck, Loki reacted, rolling out from under it and off the bed, rising quickly to his feet, producing a dagger in each hand. The Jotun standing on the other side of the bed produced a sword of ice. Loki sent his daggers flying. As they reached the Jotun, the giant vanished, the illusion dissolving in a flash of blue light. Loki's daggers struck the stone wall, clattering onto the floor.

Another scream came from the next room. Loki retrieved his daggers and raced out of the room to that of his grandmother. Quickly scanning the room, he found it to be devoid of any danger, the only occupant was Frida, sitting up in the bed, wide eyed, staring at the far wall, trembling in fright, clutching the blanket to her chest.

"Amma!" Loki said, swiftly moving to her side and sitting down on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his.

"They're here! They've come for you!" she cried.

"There's no one here. You had a nightmare. It was just a dream." Loki eased the elderly woman carefully back down to lie in the bed, moving the blanket over her.

"Loki?" Frida said.

"Yes, it's me. I'm here. All is well." Loki said, once again taking her hand.

"You must not go to him." Frida said.

"Go to who?" Loki asked, though he was sure her answer would make little more sense than their previous conversation.

"Your father. Don't go to him. Don't go to Jotunheim."

"My father isn't on Jotunheim."

"He waits for you. He knows you will come. Don't seek him out. Promise me. Swear it."

"I promise. I swear to you. Sleep now." Loki said. Frida closed her eyes once again, quickly returning to slumber. Loki waited a few moments to ensure she had returned to her rest before gently releasing her hand and rising. He looked down on the sleeping woman, troubled, before turning and exiting the room once more.