"Good morning, Your Majesty." Aerin bowed deeply before the Queen of Asgard.

"I have already told you to drop the formalities, dear. Please do call me Frigga." It had been a week since the celebration, and while Aerin had been grateful for the Queen's intervention, he was still wary of her kindness.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but it would be improper for someone of my stature to address you by your name." He bowed once more.

"Well, think of it as doing me a favour. There is nobody who calls me by my name anymore and if this goes on, I fear I might forget it."

Aerin looked at her, puzzled. Nobody had ever told him to be informal before, much less speak so politely to him. He glanced at Loki who nodded his head. "As you wish, your majesty." He bowed.

"Frigga," she corrected gently.

Aerin looked at Loki again, a little uneasy. He didn't know why he did so, but he was glad for it when Loki stepped forward. "Mother, it's his first day, it might take him some to grow accustomed to calling you by your name."

Frigga smiled, nodding before she beckoned for them to follow her. Loki took the silent walk as an opportunity to properly observe Aerin. The fae walked with a confident and graceful stride, his steps as light as a cat. His hair was short today, and pulled into a bun, leaving his pointed ears on display. He wore a dark blue tunic with silver thread lining his lapels and sides. His appearance was neat and impeccable and his gaze was sharp.

The way his ears twitched anytime someone else walked down the same path, did not escape Loki. Despite himself, the prince found himself trying to make conversation with the boy.

"Have you always had magic?"

Aerin nodded. "I was born with it."

"And you've already learnt how to control it?"

Aerin looked away, avoiding the prince's gaze. "Through a few trial and error methods, yes."

"Are you alright? Is something bothering you?" Loki asked, noticing his discomfort.

Aerin hesitated, reluctant to show any vulnerability. "Nothing, it is just a little... overwhelming. I never imagined that I would be allowed to set foot here in my life."

As they reached a set of ornate double doors, Frigga paused and turned to face them, her gaze warm and welcoming. "Here we are," she announced, gesturing for them to enter.

The room beyond was a spacious chamber, bathed in soft golden light streaming in from tall windows adorned with rich tapestries. In the centre of the room stood a large table, strewn with scrolls and parchment, and surrounded by plush chairs.

"This will be yours and Loki's study," Frigga explained, her smile gentle. "You will have access to the royal library and be provided with any resources you require for your magical education."

Aerin's eyes widened in awe as he took in the sight of the meticulously organised space. It was a far cry from the humble surroundings he was accustomed to, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude towards the queen for her generosity.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aerin murmured, his voice filled with genuine appreciation.

Frigga waved off his gratitude with a gracious smile. "Think nothing of it, dear. It is my pleasure to offer you this opportunity. Now, you and your mother will be provided lodging within the castle, but since I have engaged her as one of my personal assistants, her room will be allocated next to mine while yours is next to Thor and Loki's."

Aerin considered it before daring to ask, "Are they very far from each other?"

"Not entirely, your room will be just a couple of corridors away from ours."

Aerin nodded his approval before Frigga began their first lesson.

Frigga started with the basics, explaining the fundamentals of magical theory. Loki and Aerin hung on her every word, eyes wide and curious. Once Frigga had finished that, she turned to Aerin. "Now, I need to know how far along you are in the use of your magic. What can you do?"

Aerin shifted uneasily but replied all the same, "Shapeshifting comes easily, as you saw at the banquet, as does transformation. Levitation is little harder, since a lot of it depends on my focus, precision and the mass of the object. I can summon and create objects well enough, and I recently discovered I can manipulate shadows and light."

Frigga nodded thoughtfully. "You think you might have more abilities that you might be unaware of?"

Aerin tilted his head, trying to form his response carefully. "I think that if we're talking about abilities, then shapeshifting is the only other ability I have other than the capacity to wield magic. Anything I can do apart from changing forms is more or less manipulation through my magical capacity, so really, anything I can do, Loki can do as well. It depends on how much magic we have and how precise our manipulation is and how long we can last before tiring out. That would be the only difference."

Frigga smiled at the boy, shooting Loki a glance to see him smiling as well. It was just as she thought, the child was intuitive. "Loki, why don't you tell Aerin what you've been working on so far?" She suggested gently.

Loki flushed, but complied all the same. "It's not as impressive as you, but I can create illusions."

Aerin blinked at him, seeming a little incredulous. "What do you mean it's not impressive? Maintaining an illusion is far more complicated than innate transformation. The energy that goes into maintaining it and the details, that takes a lot of work and concentration."

Loki turned redder at the praise, smiling a little despite himself. Frigga smiled wider, feeling a little relieved that the two boys were getting along. She had always been worried that Loki did not have any friends and tended to withdraw into himself during social events. But Aerin and Loki already seemed to have forgotten Frigga's presence as they discussed each other abilities, demonstrating as they spoke. Aerin, especially, seemed rather engrossed, instructing and helping Loki refine the details of his illusion of a dagger. With a start, Frigga realised that he had replicated the same dagger Aerin had used against those boys at the feast.

She also drew closer, intrigued. The dagger hovered over Loki's palm, looking simple and elegant. The blade was about seven inches long, excluding its hilt, and gleamed darkly, as if it were made from obsidian. She observed the handle, the cross guard was made of silver, welded to seem like they were silver twigs branching out from the grip, the grip was a deep blue shade, although it seemed to reflect shades of a dark green from certain angles. Then, as her eyes caught the sigil on the pommel, she paled immediately. It was a rune, but a rune that held a huge significance to those who knew it.

"Aerin, could you show me the real dagger?" Frigga asked, careful to school her expression and tine into that of mild curiosity.

Aerin seemed to think nothing of her request and summoned his dagger. But he hesitated before placing it into her waiting hand. "It's important to me," He said quietly.

"I'll be careful," Frigga promised. As he placed it in her palm, she inspected it, the make, the design. There was no mistaking it. "Where did you get this dagger from, Aerin?"

"My mother gave it to me." The boy shrugged. "She said it was from Alfheim and that it belonged to my father."

"And you have been trained to wield it?" He nodded.

Frigga knew, that it was a blade from Alfheim, that much was clear enough. But given the blade and the sigil, there was no mistaking it, it was no ordinary Alfheim blade. She gave it back to Aerin, forcing a smile. "It is of a very impressive make. Not just anyone can master it." Indeed, it was very light, almost as light as a feather, as if the hilt weighed nothing at all. Anyone who had practiced normal daggers would lose their control and precision with such a weapon.

"Well, that is enough for today's lesson. Now, both of you run along and do whatever you wish." Aerin bowed to the queen, thanking her and then took his leave, following Loki.

Frigga hurried to her chambers, where she found Marianne in the balcony, leaning against the railing, a content smile on her face.

"I know who Aerin is." Marianne turned around, looking at her friend's furious face with a smile.

"I knew you'd figure it out."

"If Odin found out-"

"He already knows." Frigga stopped short.

Marianne sighed. "You did not think that he stripped me of my status simply because I bore the child of a fae, did you? Did you not wonder why he did not refuse the idea of bringing us here?"

"Does Aerin know?" Frigga asked, her voice hushed.

"Aerin can't know. That was Odin's condition to allowing my child to live in this realm." Marianne sounded bitter. Frigga pulled the woman into a tight embrace.

"I love Odin, but sometimes I wonder at the decisions he makes. I'm sorry I cannot help you get out of this mess." She pulled back, her gaze hardening with determination. "But I can train her. You train her in weaponry, and I will train her in magic."

"Odin will never allow me to teach him to fight." Marianne shook her head.

Frigga smiled mischievously. "Not if Aerin is the sparring partner Loki and Thor need while you teach them. Not if Aerin seems loyal and useful to Asgard."

"After all, the child of one of Asgard's elite warriors would be a formidable ally for Odin. When Aerin claims his birthright, it will be on his terms and no one else."