Temptation

Time

"Come on, Papa! Uncle Thor was right! You ride like a girl!" Blezan laughed cheekily, his little brown eyes shining with all the mischief a nine-year-old possessed.  His chestnut stallion was a length in front of Loki's black one, truthfully only because Loki let him, and he was loving it. 

To best his Father was a rare treat.  Loki was never, ever, cruel to the little boy he loved as his own.  He did, however, show him that sometimes anything worth having was worth working hard for. 

Like his family.  His Eva.

Loki had worked hard for his wife over the intervening years.  Building a life for them on Asgard, helping Thor where he could, picking up the pieces where he could not.  

Now, he understood.  What Odin had meant.  The sacrifices, the hard choices, the loneliness. 

Since Odin had gone to Valhalla and Thor had taken the throne, he was a changed man in so many ways.  Jane and he had split, the pressures of rule too much for their very long distance relationship to survive. They'd remained friends and, who knew, in the future? Maybe they could see a way to make it work.

Loki was changed, too.  But because of Eva?  He had changed for the better. 

Taking in the child had been just the beginning. Blezan and his father had bonded over the years more closely than either Eva or Loki would ever have believed. From the moment he'd fallen asleep as a toddler in Loki's lap, he had been home.

Blezan had always known he was adopted. They didn't want history repeating itself.  He'd known that Loki had found him after a 'big fight' on Vanaheim.  He'd known that his village had been destroyed by the bad elves, and Loki had found him and loved him from the moment he saw him.

As he grew, more details would be filled in.  Eventually, when he was older, if he wanted, they would take him 'home' to find out more.

So far, whenever it was talked about, all he ever said to anyone was that Mama and Papa loved him so much they took him across the Big Tree to protect him and give him an Uncle to play with and a little sister to adore.

A little sister. Frigga had made an appearance one summer's day just over three years ago.  Now, toddling herself, she adored her big brother and followed him everywhere. So much so that she'd had a screaming tantrum when Loki and  Blezan had left that morning.

"Waaaaannt Blezzzzzzzzy. Want to go on MY horsey!" She'd cried and stamped her almost permanently boot-clad feet. Her large green eyes blazed with fury, and her black hair, never truly tamed, escaped from its bands down her forehead.

A princess by birth, a feisty little tom-boy by choice.  No slippers and dresses for her, oh no.  She lived in breeches and boots, Eva and Loki long since having given up any attempt to change things.  And why should they?  She was an old soul, she knew her own mind and she made no bones about showing it.  It would stand her in good stead in the years to come.

Eva had laughed softly and scooped her up, resting her on her hip.  She brushed the hair back from her face with a gentle hand. "Now Frigga Lokisdottir, what will your grandmother say when she looks from Valhalla and sees you shrieking like a Nisse?"

Frigga quietened, as she always did in her mother's embrace. Her little face was flushed still, and her cheeks pink with effort. As her son worshipped his Papa, Frigga was, when not with her brother, Eva's shadow.

"She be happy cos Frigga be a strong girl!" She began to giggle and buried her face in Eva's shoulder, pretending to now be shy.

Eva laughed and ruffled her hair, kissing her cheek.  She was her father's daughter alright. "Come on, cheeky. Let's go inside and see what else we can add to your new room? We don't have much longer until you move into it now. Are you excited?" She slipped Frigga down onto the ground and took her hand.

Frigga nodded and grinned up at her mother.  "Oh yes, and Papa said I can have my own wolf too, to keep me company!!!!" 

"Did he now?" Eva took a mental note to have words with Loki later.  Wolf indeed.

As they walked into the beautifully painted little room, Frigga paused. "When do I get a baby Mama?" She gently laid a little hand on Eva's rounded belly.

"Oh Frigga, not till you're all grown up and find someone who loves you as much as Papa loves me." Eva smiled down. In her head she added, but for you, little one, I fear that will be impossible.  As Loki had proved in spades, there just wasn't that much love spare in the Cosmos for anyone else to have.

Frigga nodded solemnly, her three years weighing heavily. "Mama?"

They walked into the palace and through the corridors back towards Eva and Loki's bedroom so she could rest a while. The baby was only a matter of a couple of weeks away.  Eva braced herself for another nugget of toddler wisdom or the inevitable "Why?" that seemed almost her entire vocabulary these days.

"Yes, darling?"

"I love you, Mama. I love Papa and Blezzy, but I love you mostest, and I will love Erik too." She looked up with the innocence of a child, but Eva felt a wave of shock pass through her.

"Erik?" She whispered. No one but her and Loki knew the baby was a boy, and they had never uttered the name aloud.

Frigga nodded, pulling her into the chamber. She dragged Eva to a nearby couch and, making her sit, she looked up at her mother with earnest eyes.  Placing her hand on Eva again, she closed her little eyes, smiled and nodded.  Then she opened them and when she spoke, it wasn't as a child.

"Yes, Mama. Erik says he can't wait to meet us and is so happy he's named for Grandpa."  her voice was strong and clear, her face almost like she was someone else.  Someone who... no, surely not?

"When did he tell you this?" Eva could barely speak. Did her daughter have The Sight?

"Oh he speaks to me all the time. Especially when I'm naughty. It makes him laugh. I like making him laugh Mama." She grinned and Eva raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling the warmth of the bond between Frigga and her, as yet, unborn sibling.

"Do you now?" She began to wonder if  little Frigga was as good at telling tales as her father. Perhaps it was all coincidence and Eva's natural desire for them to be close. Until..

"Yes, he says it makes him laugh just like Grandpa did when you tried to juggle the peaches. Oh and Mama?" She put her head to one side, "Erik says that it's going to be ok. He'll love fruit just as much as Grandpa did, but probably not apples." She suddenly jumped off the couch and ran to the window. "Look Mama! Look! Dada and Blezzy! And they have a new friend!"  Eva's mouth hung open in amazement, her eyes filling with tears as she placed a hand on her son and felt him move.

Too shocked to speak, Eva got up and walked to the window. 

Frigga bounced up and down, back to her usual three year-old self. From the window she could indeed see Loki, Blezan and now, a third man.  He was riding along on Bkezan's horse, his grey hair bright in the sunshine. Blezan and Loki doubled up on his mare. She'd only ever seen anyone like... no, it WAS him... once before. A long, long time ago. Buried deep i.n her subconscious, she'd actually never forgotten, it seemed.

The brown suit and the long stick with the light at the end.  The air of quiet purpose. It all came rushing back to her. The day one of their neighbours disappeared, never to return. Ravonna had been a nice woman. Meddling, but nice. As Eva watched, they dismounted and she felt a growing sense of unease. Taking her daughter's hand, she walked to the door.

"Come on Frigga. As a princess you must learn to greet people.  No time like the present." The words cut her to the core. Time. Why did she get the feeling that time was the reason for Mobius M Mobius to return.