Then my father turned blue.
As my Daddy's pale face melted away to blue, I shot up, my eyes wide. I buried my face into my pillow, to scared to move.
I felt my Daddy stand up, and leave, shutting the door behind him. I was to scared to move. Too scared to speak. All I could do was lay there and cry.
*****
I woke up, several hours later, my neck crampt, and my eyes puffy. I stared into the darkness for quite some time, unable to erase the transformation from my mind.
I wanted to wake up, have my Daddy next to me. To be able to sit with him, see him smile. I wanted my Daddy back, not the jotun I had just seen. I wanted my Daddy, Loki, the King of Asgard. But I doubted he would ever be the same.
After laying still for quite some time, I slipped out of bed and quietly walked down the halls of the palace. I needed to clear my head, to think. Whenever I thought of my black haired, green eyed father, I saw the flashing red and blue of a jotun. I saw my old Daddy, my real father, with his worn smile and the golden crinkled by his eyes. I heard his laugh, a loud, jolly burst of bubbling sound, and I heard his voice, ringing in my head.
"Come along, Rowan-tree." He would say. "Queen Frigga can't wait to see you again."
"Oh, little one, let's see what's growing in the gardens."
"Look, Child, it's a Rowan tree. "Red one". That's what I named you, Rowan. The red leaves for your red hair. My darling, you'll grow into a fine young woman, just as this tree has."
I missed his voice. I missed my nicknames. I missed the piney smell that permeated both our small home, and my father's clothing.
But I couldn't live two lives. I couldn't continue to hope for two fathers. It was time to forget the past, to let go of my old life, and move into the new.
"Rowan?"
I heard the soft voice before I saw my new father. Before my brain had registered anything, I had ran to him, flung my arms around his neck, and buried my face in his chest.
For the moment, I didn't care that he was a frost giant, that he had taken me away after my old father. I didn't care.
He was a warm body, and strong arms, who loved me. That's all that mattered.
