A little after dawn, Maeve knew it was time. She just wanted to find her brother and leave the Jotunheim before something bad happened. A few times during the night, she could have sworn that she heard footsteps. However, looking around at the men sound asleep on the ground, she felt bad for waking them, especially the one who currently slept on her lap.

"Loki," she whispered. Nothing. "Loki," she whispered again, this time more forcefully. Still nothing. Her betrothed could sleep through an explosion and not bat an eyelash. "Loki!" She shook him slightly. To her relief, he stirred, but only long enough to yawn and close his eyes again. "It's time to get up, you silly prince."

With his eyes still shut, he mumbled, "It's barely light outside."

"I know. You can sleep later, love. Come on, help me wake up everyone. I would do it myself, but you're currently on my lap."

Smirking, Loki sat up, catching Maeve briefly for a kiss. She smiled against his lips before the pair stood up. "I'll get Thor up," he said. "Wake your brothers, flower."

Asmund slept farthest away from the fire, aiming to let the others stay warm. The princess crouched down and shook her eldest brother's shoulders gently. He rolled over, and when he opened his gray-blue eyes, she thought she caught a glimmer of disappointment cross his face when he saw it was her waking him.

"Morning." He yawned and sat up, stretching out before letting Maeve help him up. "How's your shoulder?"

"It still hurts, but it's okay. You'll be able to heal it once we get our magic back." She shook her head. "You worry too much."

Asmund cupped her cheek with his hand, wearing a fond smile on his face. "You worry too little." He went to wake Corey, but Maeve lingered, his comment still on her mind.

"You're wrong," she whispered to herself, barely audible. "I worry plenty."

After a quick breakfast of sparse rations, they once again began to follow the map, weapons drawn, focus sharp. Maeve noticed that Loki stayed especially close to her, most likely because she was already injured. Unusual exhaustion plagued all of the magic users without their abilities, but the drive to find Roscoe and finish their journey pushed everyone forward.

Maeve did her best to keep up with her tall companions, cursing her small frame in ways she never had before. Luckily, they didn't have to walk too far.

"This should be it," said Corey, squinting down at the map in confusion. "I don't get it. There's just more ice and dead trees."

"That's what everything looks like here," Thor said impatiently.

"He should be somewhere around here," Asmund said, his voice retaining that calming element that always managed to put everyone at ease. "Let's keep searching."

They all nodded and began to walk again, all except Maeve. She stood frozen to her place, hand covering her mouth in shock.

"Maeve?" Loki turned, but she'd already taken off into the forest. The princes chased after the princess and found her cutting the ropes tying Roscoe to a tree, half-frozen and half-starved. His curly blonde hair fell matted into closed eyes and his head hung down at his chest. If it wasn't for the sound of his shallow breath, she would have thought him dead.

Her own breath hitched in her throat at the sight of her brother, but she worked diligently and wordlessly as the princes crowded around her. Her blade cut through the thick ropes, and the movement jarred the unconscious man awake. She only spoke when his eyes opened and he recognized his sister. Knowing that anything sudden would startle her brother, she gave him a weak smile, lifting his face up with gentle fingers. "Ros, it's us. It's Maeve. It's okay now."

"Maeve?" Roscoe whispered hoarsely, all but collapsing once she freed him. Corey supported him while Maeve grasped one of his hands. He's so cold. "What're you doing here?"

"Saving you," Corey answered. "Can you stand?"

Roscoe nodded and pulled himself up with what looked like much effort. The minute he was on his feet, the little color in his pale face drained and he swayed unsteadily until Corey and Loki moved to support him. He was much thinner than she remembered.

"It's a three days journey back to the shore," Asmund said, thinking out loud. His brow furrowed as he realized how difficult it would be bringing his youngest brother back in his current state. "And at least a day without our magic."

Maeve frowned. "We might as well start back. If we make good time, we might be back at the stone by nightfall. Magic will make us faster."

"You... don't have... magic?" Each word from Roscoe's mouth sounded dry and painful. Maeve removed Loki's cloak from her shoulders and fastened it around her brother, wincing when she moved her arm too far.

Asmund shook his head. "It's a curse on the island. We would have been here sooner otherwise."

"We need to go." Loki's voice cut through the reunion like shattered glass, but he held no apologies whatsoever. "I don't like the idea of being here longer than we need to be. It's not safe."

Everyone shared this sentiment, and it was quickly decided that Corey and Thor, the two strongest, would help Roscoe until they could all rest. With the expertise of a healer, Asmund's gaze swept over his youngest brother as they moved, and he didn't believe there were any injuries inflicted upon him. He was just cold and malnourished, which worried him more. Privately, he agreed with Loki. Something wasn't right. He walked ahead of the others, his mind only half on the mater at hand. His deeper thoughts wandered back to Vanaheim and the things he kept hidden from everyone, even Frey himself. After many years of hiding every desire for his life, Asmund had no issue adding an extra secret to his list. Court smiles and vague words came to him as second nature.

Loki and Maeve hung towards the back of the group, only conversing occasionally. She shivered against the wind, and the raven-haired prince remembered what she told him about her weakness in the cold, just like plants. He hated that he couldn't offer her anything to keep her warm, especially because he didn't feel particularly cold, but Roscoe currently wore his own cloak and he had no magic to summon another one. In the silence, she noticed that Loki seemed off, so she slid her hand in his. It was strangely cold against her small palm.

"What's wrong?" She whispered, hopping over a dead tree root.

He shook his head. "This was too easy," he replied quietly. "It doesn't make sense."

His thoughts disturbed Maeve and she glanced around the forest, praying to find nothing but blackened trees covered in sheets of ice, which she did find. The discovery didn't make her feel any safer, though.

"I don't like it here at all," Maeve said quietly. "I hope I never have to come here again."

Loki nodded, but he couldn't focus on one particular thing. He constantly scanned the area for threats and his hand hung loosely at his side, right near his dagger sheath. While the god of mischief wasn't close to many, he was fiercely protective of the ones he loved. Being in a situation where two of the people that mattered most to him were in potential danger unnerved him greatly. Loki's understanding that both his brother and his princess could defend themselves didn't change that.

"I suppose this is a no for honeymoon destinations," he said, trying to crack a joke. It was still odd to him that he'd be a married man in less than five months.  Frigga was no doubt at home in Asgard, alternating between her duties as a healer and wedding planning for the two. He didn't know how to feel about marriage in general, but he knew how he felt about the woman he'd marry, and if she'd still take him, that was more than enough.

Maeve brightened a bit and decided to play along. "No, it's a bit too dark here for my taste."

"A bit too cold."

"Too dangerous."

"Too magic-less."

Maeve's eyebrows lifted. "That's a word?"

"Do not challenge me, Princess," Loki said with a taunting smile. A twinkle appeared in his green eyes.

"I think you need to be challenged more often, my Prince," She retorted, reaching up with her good hand to mess up his hair. "Loki Odinson, you have met your match."

Leaning down to her ear, he whispered, "I'm glad to hear it."

"Lovebirds, shut up," Thor called, annoyed that Loki could flirt with his lady while he was stuck carrying her brother.

Loki grinned. "Not a chance."