*

Maeve sat up instantly, ignoring her head rush as she scrambled closer to the frozen iron bars.

"Loki?" She whispered urgently, her voice hoarse from weeks of silence. That was his magic. She could practically feel him close by, feel his magical signature in the air. It had a certain familiarity to it. "Loki? Are you there?"

A shadowy figure ran through the dark hall, clearly looking for someone. Her heart sank.

It was just a guard.

Maybe I imagined it. Maybe I'm going mad down here, or maybe they're just messing with me, or maybe I'm hallucinating, or maybe I'm dying...

"Maeve!"

Her eyes widened and she craned her neck to see into the corridor. The guard ran over to her cell and dropped to his knees, scarlet irises fading into emeralds.

"What? H-how did you-?"

"Shh, love. It's okay now." The illusion leeched away to reveal Loki, his expression equal parts apprehension and relief. He reached through the bars and gripped her hand tightly for a moment. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"The lock's right there," she whispered urgently, wanting to help him as much as possible.

Picking the lock with one of his daggers was no struggle for Loki, and the door swung open with a screechy wail. He rushed into the cell, enveloping Maeve in a tight hug that they both desperately needed.

A few tears leaked from Maeve's cornflower eyes. "You're here."

"I'm here," he repeated softly, giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. His hand momentarily rested on her stomach. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"Not hurt," she replied, stifling a cough. "Just a little sick."

He frowned and placed a hand against her forehead, frowning even deeper as he felt her temperature. "You're warm. Mother will be able to help you once we get home." Concern flickered through his jade eyes.

"I missed you," she whimpered, burying her head in his shoulder. "So much."

"I know. I missed you more than you'll ever know, flower. So much has happened. It's been so... so..." Taking in a shuddering breath, Loki lifted her chin with his finger and rested his forehead against hers for a few seconds, but he was the first to break the moment. "We've got to get out of here. The prince won't be able to distract them for long."

Loki grabbed her hand and started pulling her down the hall, nearly slipping on some ice in his haste. For the first time, Maeve had a difficult time keeping up with him. She'd lost track of how far along she was in her pregnancy, but carrying twins made her feel huge and awkward, not to mention exhausted. Already she was struggling to breathe properly.

"The prince? You mean Bjarke?"

"So informal with him, are you, my dear? I believe there's a story behind that one. Yes, him. He's at arranged for there to be a horse outside. We just have to make it there."

"And the odds of that are...?" Maeve asked hesitantly.

He grinned. "To be determined."

"How about an estimate?"

"High chance of success."

"Do you know where you're going?"

"Roughly."

"How's Bjarke causing a diversion? I don't understand, I thought his father wouldn't give him the time of day!"

Loki stiffened at the word father but continued leading her down the winding halls. His grip on her hand tightened momentarily. "Laufey will not give Bjarke the time of day. Me, however... apparently I'm much more interesting to talk to. We switched places. He's the one who let me into Jotunheim and the palace."

"He did? I didn't even know he was a sorcerer!"

"Nor did I, but he is, and quite skilled. Lucky for him, too, because he's definitely pulling off the harder feat right now. It's not easy to impersonate me."

Maeve thought about Bjarke and how kind he was to her. "Why? Why's he helping us?"

"Well, I would say two reasons." They came upon a door, which Loki unlocked with magic. The winter wind whipped at them violently. He summoned a thick wool cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders before taking off again. They stuck to the shadows, ducking behind walls when guards were near. "One, he seems relatively fond of you, based on our conversation prior to this. We're going back to that, by the way. Two, he wanted his father dead just as much as I wanted to save you. He desires a throne. It was quite simple, really, once I learned that he too was a sorcerer. Right now, he's in the throne room impersonating me, in the hopes to kill Laufey once and for all. That way, when he ascends the throne, his people won't believe that their own prince killed their king. Rather, it was a mad prince from another realm. It's an easier story to swallow, you see. He gets a throne, I get my family. We're both happy in the end."

"Clever," Maeve muttered, still struggling to breathe. Out of nowhere, a sharp pain caused her to stop running and sink to her knees in the snow. "Lo!"

He was at her side in an instant, a panicked look on his face. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

She screwed her eyes shut and nodded, subconsciously leaning into him. His hands gripped her shoulders and she focused on the comforting weight of them, not the pain or her fear. "Mhm. I'm fine, I'm really fine-"

"Hush. Don't lie to me, either. It's quite pointless. Just breathe, love. It's not-?"

"No," she mumbled. "No, not now. I just feel really awful and sick and I don't think that I-"

Without waiting for the reason, Loki scooped her up with the utmost care, making sure that she was comfortable. He felt better with her in his arms. More... in control. It was the only place he could guarantee that no harm would come to the woman he loved most.

"Once we get to the horse, we'll have to ride for a bit," Loki murmured as he crept along the side of the stone castle. Maeve marveled at his strength, thinking that she probably wasn't all that easy to lift her current state. "Then Heimdall will take us home through the Bifrost."

"Why can't we just take the Bifrost now? And this is coming from someone who hates the Bifrost."

"We have to wait for Bjarke's signal, my love. He'll send sparks into the sky once Laufey is dead and he's faked an escape as me. That's our cue to leave, so that he won't be blamed. Until then, our job is to get as far away from here as possible, hence the horse."

Maeve smiled slightly. "I'm impressed you're following through with that."

"He made it possible for me to be reunited with you, darling. Backstabbing at this point would be rather rude and uncalled for."

Maeve closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, too tired and too cold to say or do much else. He was as gentle with her as he could be. Even when they mounted the horse and rode away in the darkness of night, she could tell he was keeping the horse as steady as possible. She hated feeling this weak, but she thought there was a certain strength in accepting help when it was necessary. Besides, after being mistreated for so long, it felt wonderful to be taken care of again.

"Maeve, I know this isn't an ideal time, but I don't want to do this back in Asgard," he started nervously. His spare hand played with her hair. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm-"

"A Frost Giant? Bjarke told me that you're his older brother."

"He... he did? And you're not-?"

"Angry? Maybe at your parents, but not at you. Scared? Terrified, but not because of you. Confused? Very, but I'm sure that's two-way." Maeve looked up at him, her eyes a sleepy, beautiful blue. "You're stuck with me, love, so don't make excuses."

Loki still couldn't grasp how understanding she was. "But I'm-"

"My husband. The father of my children. A just prince and a good man. The one I fell in love with." She kissed him softly on the cheek. "Nothing will ever change that. I love you."

"You're... you're much too warm," he mumbled, refusing to believe her so easily. Maeve noticed this and frowned, but when he placed a cool hand against her forehead, she sighed with relief and closed her eyes, only worrying him further. Frigga warned him that she might be unwell, but this was worse than he expected.

They rode on in silence, both of them glancing at the sky every few minutes. The sound of the roaring river filled her ears, and Maeve started to worry. What was delaying Bjarke? What if it was all a trick? What if he planned to betray them? That didn't seem like him...

A loud cracking yanked Maeve out of her thoughts seconds before the ice beneath them broke, sending her, Loki, and the horse crashing into the freezing water.

Discomfort coursed through the princess as soon as she was submerged in the river, the current pushing her down the river. She broke the surface and gulped in as much air as she could. Her head spun rapidly, searching for Loki.

"Loki!" She screamed fearfully, fighting a losing battle against the current with all of her tiny might. The last thing she needed was to go careening over the oncoming waterfall. She was shivering all over. "Loki!"

Loki finally resurfaced, his eyes widening when he saw the distance between them. The horse swam away in the opposite direction, abandoning them both.

"Maeve!"

She had never been more grateful that her brothers taught her how to swim. Every movement ached, every breath was a struggle, but she refused to give in, only stopping when Loki's hand grasped hers.

"I've got you... I've got you."

In the distance, sparks lit up the sky.

"HEIMDALL! NOW!" Loki yelled desperately, his voice cracking as he wrapped his arms around Maeve.

She held on tightly to her husband as rainbow light surrounded them.