The moment Skadi had stood in the woods and watched her best friend fall against the snow and could hear his pained groans echo in her eardrums, the woman swore to never use her power against him again ─ or to use them at all. But then she returned home, and she restored Asgard to its former glory because Skadi knew deep in her heart, buried beneath all the fear and regret, that the Horae were right. She was her mother's daughter. She was a Horae. She was Skadi Ullrdottir, Goddess of Winter. And if she could restore Asgard, why could she not also save Loki?

"Alright," Skadi nodded after a moment, squeezing Emblr's hands back. "I will do it. I will save him."

"Come," Ostara said, extending a hand toward Skadi, "we must make haste. We know not of how much time Loki has left."

Giving the woman a nod of agreement, Skadi exited her bed chambers. Her pace was much quicker than the others as she lead the way down the many corridors toward the infirmary, passing guards and maidens along the way, all of whom turned to look at her and whispered. The news had spread quick; it seemed. They had heard of Loki's condition and had placed the blame upon her. (Not that they were mistaken in doing so, as it was her fault.) Skadi paid no attention to them and kept her pace toward the infirmary. Her heart raced the entire way there.

When they arrived at the infirmary, Nadiya was the first to take notice of her presence, soon followed by Odin and Frigga.

Odin's demeanor changed when he saw Skadi. "Did I not say─"

"Skadi, why are you here?" Frigga cut her husband off. "Why are all of you here? Have you discovered something? Is this about Loki? Tell me, do you know how to help him?" The desperation on her face and in her words broke Skadi's heart.

Skadi approached her king and queen, bowing her head before saying, "With your blessing, I would like to save your son."

Frigga and Odin exchanged a glance. Neither one of them said a thing for what seemed like forever. When the queen gave her husband a small smile, Odin gave in. Nadiya had said that she did not know of Loki's infection and that it would only worsen. He saw no other way than to allow Skadi to do what she can.

Odin nodded, "Do what you must."

Skadi bowed her head before approaching the table.

When she arrived at Loki's side, she swallowed down a sob, for the sight of his condition was enough to make her want to rid the power of the Horae for all eternity. This was her own doing. She had done this. Within her, she had the power to kill someone in such a slow and painful way. It made her sick to her stomach.

She reached out and took his hand in her own and couldn't help the gasp that fell from her lips at the temperature of his skin. It wasn't the same warmth that had held her so close and rather a bitter cold that made her heart burn. Gods, did she wish she could feel the cold now. If anyone deserved to feel such pain, it was her, for she had done this to someone who didn't deserve it. Loki was only trying to help her, after all. Look at what she had done to repay his kindness. His love.

"I'm going to make it better, Loki," Skadi whispered, "I promise."

The room fell silent as every took a step back to give the Goddess of Winter her space.

Skadi closed her eyes. She relaxed her body, took a deep breath, and reached out. In her mind, she pictured what Loki's innards must look like, tainted with cold that was slowing devouring from one place to another, and she reeled in the frost consuming every one of his bones and organs into her own body and returned it to the place whence it came. A cold sensation tingled in her bones.

It was working.

Moments passed, and before she knew it, she only felt warmth. Skadi opened her eyes and looked down. Loki's skin had regained colour and his body lay still, no longer trembling with a cold sweat. But his hair, though obsidian and lacking the frost, still had a single platinum strand that flowed from his scalp. She frowned at the sight of it. While everything else had seemed to vanish, that had not. She wondered why.

Loki's eyes opened. Slow and weak, he looked around the room. When his gaze found Skadi, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Skadi?"

The winter goddess broke into tears. She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. "It's me," she nodded. "Everything is okay. You're better now, Loki."

"Wh─What happened?" Loki's voice was so weak.

"It doesn't matter now," Skadi dismissed his question. "What matters is that you are healthy."

Before she could further speak to Loki, Frigga and Odin had approached them. They both rounded the table and Frigga gasped aloud at the sight of her son and how different he now looked compared to how he looked moments ago.

"Oh, my boy!" Frigga took Loki's hand in her own, crying at the temperature of his skin. When her son tried to sit up, but she was quick to reach out. "No, no. Loki, you must rest. You have been through so much."

"Guards," said Odin, as he watched his wife fuss over their son as if he were a child. "Assist my son to his chambers where he can rest."

"Right away, Your Majesty."

Two guards approached the examination table and helped the prince. Loki wobbled on his feet, but Frigga was quick to come to his aide and help him stand by wrapping an arm around his waist. She wasn't prepared to leave his side anytime soon. Not until he was back to perfect health.

"You will not come with us?" Frigga asked.

"Soon," Odin replied. "But first I must speak with Skadi."

Frigga glanced toward the platinum blonde, who stood in silence and was unsure of what to say or do, before giving her husband a nod. "Of course." She then smiled at Loki and said softly, "Come, my love, let's get you to your bed."

Skadi watched them both leave the room, followed by two guards and Thor. She stared until she could no longer see them and as they disappeared down the corridor. She frowned, wanting nothing more than to be with them. But Skadi knew she had to give Loki his space to rest and that she still had to discuss matters with Odin. She would see him later.

"Skadi, let us walk," Odin said after a moment.

The winter goddess remained silent as she followed Odin out of the infirmary. They walked for some time. When they stood in the gardens outside the palace, Odin sat down on a stone bench and motioned for her to join him. She did as he wanted and sat down beside him. Skadi smoothed out her dress and placed her shaky hands in her lap.

"I must thank you, Skadi," Odin began. "If not for you, my son would be dead at this very moment."

"You need not thank me, my King," she replied.

"And yet, I find myself doing so." Odin met her eye. "Loki's condition aside, you must understand there still lies my disappointment."

"I am disappointed as well," she murmured. "My mother always said that I was strong. That I was brave. But I know now how wrong she was. I am none of those things. I am, and always be, fearful of myself."

Odin shook his head, "Mistakes were made, yes, but they are to never be feared. You are to never be feared, Skadi. What I witnessed on this day from you, was strength. You showed us how brave you are when you did what nobody was capable of doing themselves and saved our realm."

Skadi remained silent, unsure of what to say.

"As I've said before, I know I am in the wrong for what happened," Odin continued. "I held your coronation during a time of mourning for both yourself and your father. But I am not the only one at fault. I must hold you accountable for your actions. You are a Horae, Skadi, and a Horae cannot lose control of who she is. You must separate your emotions in order to role."

"I know," Skadi replied. "And I intend to keep my vow to you. I will not fail neither you nor Asgard ever again. With help from the Horae, I will learn how to control my power, and I won't stop until I have gained control."

A hint of a smile appeared on his face. "I am pleased to hear."

"There's something else, however," she said.

"What may that be?"

"I was able to heal Loki of his condition, but . . . his hair . . ."

"Yes," Odin nodded. "I, too, saw it. Platinum, much like your own. You said you struck him with your power in the woods near the caverns?"

Skadi nodded, "And regrettably so."

"It will, as I suspect, be permanent. When you struck him with your power, the power of a Horae, we know it traveled deep, for it had consumed everything within. I have no doubt, in someway, it affected his soul."

"His soul?" Skadi's voice was full of with confusion. "But . . . how does that make any sense? If I had affected his soul, would it not show in another way?"

"All power works in mysterious ways," Odin replied. "You've healed him, Skadi, and I am grateful. Do not allow what his appearance may now be affect you further. Let us put this all in the past."

"What if what I did to heal him was only temporary?"

"I have faith in you, Skadi."

"But his hair─"

"Is but a scar," Odin cut her off. He rose from the bench and Skadi tilted her head back to look up as he gazed down at her. "Remember, Skadi, you must separate emotion from duty and power. Do not allow what happened to scar you as well."

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a/n: Well, there you have it! Skadi healed Loki and he is all better now. It's crazy to think how act one only has one more chapter left before we finally step into the events of the Thor trilogy.