"I'm going to kill him."

"I wish I could say you were the first person to echo that sentiment towards my son. But you've been lied to enough today."

"Or turn him into a hamster. I will find a way. Then I'll put him in a little hamster cage with nothing but a little hamster mirror so he will just have to sit around and look at himself." Frigga failed to hide her muted smirk, though the young woman was too occupied pacing and plotting to see it. "Did you know he was going to do this?" Darcy stopped and asked suddenly.

"I would hate to know what creature I would become should I confess that I did." Darcy frowned, but crossed her arms, continuing to pace. "No Darcy, I did not. But I am ashamed it is not something I hadn't even considered. Odin has not given a mortal an Apple of Idunn in over a thousand years. I had scarcely remembered it was ever done. Of course when Loki offered you an Apple, I realized what he was up to, after his strange behavior this morning. Unfortunately, we have both been working very had to keep my consciousness separated from you during waking hours. Loki no doubt kept you distracted to silence any voice I might have still had in your head."

"You're not angry at him? For lying or for giving me one of Odin's fancy shmancy apples?"

Frigga sighed, still sensing Darcy's tension, and gently patted the space on the velvet cushion of her couch. The queen could see the young woman's hesitation, though she still complied, crossing her arms back over her chest.

"If I let myself become angry every time either of my sons, or my husband for that matter, did something foolish and rash, I would have wasted away from the stress of it many years ago."

Darcy scoffed. "I bet."

"I would have hoped to handle things a bit more diplomatically, as I believe Odin could have been convinced to give you an Apple and you could have agreed to it. And, it is, objectively, a good idea, even if it was done less scrupulously than I would have wanted. But convincing Odin might have taken more time than we had. None of us chose any of this. The best I can hope for is to leave you as untouched as possible before all of this happened."

"You call this untouched?"

"Odin can remove the gift of Idunn if he wishes, as he can with all Asgardians. But I can command it to all of this over —if we are successful— I will leave the choice to you. Odin will obey my wishes, as I shall obey yours." Darcy looked the queen over, not doubting for a moment she could hold up that promise. "And you needn't make the choice right away. Should next year, or decades or centuries from now you decide that you wish for a mortal life, you will be restored to as you were."

Darcy thought over a moment, finding herself literally twiddling her thumbs in thought. "Do I have to stay in Asgard? Would I be able to go back to Midgard?"

"If that is what you wish, then I will respect it. Though bear in mind, your Aesir form will be far more powerful than you can probably understand right now. You may find that the life you were leading a bit more… confining… as time goes on, if you attempt to live as a mortal."

Darcy thought over a moment, chewing on her lower lip in thoughtful habit. "Kind of like when Thor starts getting antsy when he hasn't beaten something to a pulp within the last week?"

Frigga smiled with a light sigh. "Something like that. You are one of the few people in the cosmos who have been able to see the World Tree almost in its entirety. You have shape-shifted with the God of Mischief. You have been tricked into becoming a being that your people once viewed as a god by a prince to save a queen. Do you think you will be content with an apprenticeship on Midgard?"

Darcy pondered for a while. Her life was sounding more and more like a fable by the minute. Whatever entry level internship in her actual field she would have to work —probably unpaid, again— when she got home hadn't really crossed her mind for awhile. And the queen wasn't wrong that it was already less than appealing to imagine hitting the internet trying to find one. "Then… would I be allowed to stay here? Or rather, Asgard I mean. If that turns out to be true?"

"Should you choose to stay in Asgard, and remain and Aesir, I would be prepared to appoint you as my Acolyte. If you accept it, of course."

Darcy frowned. "I'm not super religious."

Frigga smiled. "The connotations are not the same as on Midgard. You are trained in the art of politics in your realm, are you not? An Acolyte of the Queen is a position of high esteem in Asgard and the Nine Realms, though comes with a great deal of freedom than other appointments. You would be my eyes, ears, and mouth in places I could not be. You would be trained in the ways of necessary magic and diplomacy to represent my interests, and observe whether or not my wishes are being obeyed in places where they should. I have not had one in many years. A mistake I hope to correct."

"So like a magic ambassador spy?"

Frigga's eyes searched the room dramatically. "Acolyte sounds much more diplomatic, but your description is not an inaccurate one."

Darcy's eyes widened. "You would teach me how to do magic?"

"You are saving my life, my dear. My debt to you is great. You are perceptive and observant with a good heart and a keen mind. All of these qualities would make you an apt student of the arts. Not to mention, watching you attempt to turn my son into a rodent for the next few decades would be most diverting. He could use someone playing tricks on him for once."

Though she still woke periodically to mumble innocuous threats in his direction and call him Midgardian insults, Darcy slept mostly peacefully in his loft bed through the night. Or at least, what would be called the night in space. All things considered, she seemed to have taken the news of his recent machinations relatively well. Throwing one of his pillows at him had been the extent of violence towards his person.

Loki had disliked lying to her. He disliked even more that he felt one way or another about lying to anyone. Her strange trust in him had sparked the even stranger desire to keep it. In his one thousand years of life, he had never fallen into such a trap. Securing trust was supposed to make deceiving easier, not less appealing.

Strangely enough, he wanted his mother's advice more than anything. More specifically, he wanted her to tell him that he had ultimately done the right thing by Darcy and he really had no better alternatives and the girl should forgive him completely and immediately. While Frigga was at it, maybe she could say that in Darcy's general direction. Surely complete absolution was not too much to hope for? However, in the wake of what Darcy —in one of her more lucid moments— had described as a "dick move" on his part, he hardly wanted to risk any further violation by visiting his mother in her mind again.

The young mortal —or perhaps, not-so-mortal-anymore— seemed far more serene than when she occasionally awakened from her healing sleep. It was very possible that Odin would remove Idunn's gift, and return her to her mortal body. It was perhaps equally likely that Odin would simply call it a fair reward, what with Darcy's role in hopefully resurrecting the queen. A reunion with Frigga would surely soften any retaliation Odin would have otherwise planned for either of them.

Loki pondered what sort of Aesir Darcy would make after a several hundred years of life under her belt, should she truly be given the opportunity. Should she choose to keep it. A brief reverie forced its way into his mind: unbidden and painful. He could see himself back in the court of Asgard, once again an esteemed prince of the Realm Eternal, as he had for so many centuries. He could imagine Darcy standing at his side, draped in fine gold fabrics, smiling playfully and casting sly remarks from the corner of her mouth to him. Her natural wit, carefree nature, and mind for mischief could refine into something masterful, given time. A fellow agent of chaos, with him as her guide. Royal functions would have been so much more interesting with her there as his companion.

Loki physically shook his head, his stomach almost rolling with nausea from his own foolishness. Had he learned nothing in his past two years? Was he destined to pass from one fixation to the next, each more desperate than the last? He had failed to gain Laufey's approval in birth. Then Odin's in childhood. Then Earth's in his madness. And now, he could no longer deny the utter euphoria of having someone at his side that delighted in his magic while remaining completely non-threatening to him and in desperate need of his help. Giving her an Apple truly had been the first idea that had occurred to him as a way of ensuring success. Her ability to charm him in their short acquaintance had only made the prospect of her embracing the Gift more appealing. His reasoning had become more clouded, even in his own mind. Did he trick her to drive her away? Did wish to keep her close for much longer than her mortal life would allow? His mother was right. He had always been able to understand the motivations of everyone around him. But never his own.

Darcy began stirring once more, and he once again straightened in his chair in the console of the ship, casually focusing on a book he had not been really reading. He watched from his invisible projection —from which he had been observing her more closely in her sleep— as she looked over at him from the bed. Her small hands began searching the even smaller shelves around her.

Loki held up her eyeglasses. "You will find you will no longer need them," he said, seemingly not taking his eyes off of his book. "But here they are." He watched from his projection as she peered around, no doubt testing her new flawless eyesight. She narrowed her eyes at the back of his head, but said nothing as she wordlessly crept down from the loft, taking her glasses from him. He immediately missed the brief warmth of her fingers against his, and he found himself wanting to hit his own face again. She rifled through her bag for a moment before heading to the downstairs lavatory.

A symphony of loud banging and light cursing from below followed the next fifteen or so minutes. She no doubt was acquainting herself with her increased strength and speed while she washed up for the new day. Darcy's complete non-reaction to him thus far had turned Loki's spine into a rod of tension as she ascended the narrow ladder back up to the main cabin. She was purposefully not looking at him as she grabbed one of her pouches of nuts and fruit from her backpack, chewing them slowly as she propped her feet up on the console, making herself comfortable in the seat next to him.

"I'm gonna turn you into a hamster," she finally said.

"I see you've had time to plot your revenge."

"I might give you a wheel, if you behave yourself."

"Well, I suppose I will make a rather plump hamster, as we both know the chances of me behaving myself." Darcy tossed an uninterested look in his direction as she quietly chewed her almonds, though he could see the corner of her mouth threatening to upturn. "Do you have the necklace?" he asked.

"The necklace that needs a smelly red fish on the end, you mean?"

"I really need a dictionary dedicated solely to your dialect. I have never heard it's like on Midgard." Darcy stretched in the chair, fishing the necklace out of her pocket, holding it out for him. "It is yours, if you wish. It should fulfill Item Number Eleven on your list. I might have embellished its magical effects and lied about it being stolen—"

"Might have?"

"But it truly was the first magical item I ever created."

Darcy scowled, not attempting to hide her disbelief as she examined the pendant once more. "Dare I ask what it really does?"

Loki extended his hands toward the necklace. "Only one way to find out."

"Actually, I can think of at least two ways."

"And yet which way will be more interesting?"

Darcy deadpanned, lifting her eyebrow and giving her best annoyed look. "Should I stand over there for when I blow up or turn to stone or whatever this does?"

Loki smiled, pleased with the signs of her softening towards him again already. "You might appreciate the effects a bit more if you are standing."

Darcy sighed, but stood, leaving her trail mix on the control board of the ship, moving more in the middle of the cabin as she fiddled with the latch mechanism. It was very unfamiliar and far more intricate than most of the mechanisms on Earth for necklaces, Loki suddenly remembered. Watching Darcy struggle with it was most amusing. She surely was not about to ask for his help, if had learned anything about her.

"There's a bit of a trick to it. Necessary to secure the illusion. May I?"

The air that would normally carry a comment from her hung empty as she held the necklace out to him. He was grateful that she brushed her hair out of the way instead of leaving the task to him as he came around behind her. It was bad enough that he was in such close proximity to her neck. Once again, he mentally doused himself with the ice-cold knowledge that his mother's spirit resided in that head of hers. As soon as it was fastened, he put a comfortable three feet of distance between them, trying to keep his sigh that was equal parts disappointment and relief to himself.

"It's not working," she said dryly.

"It has an activation of sorts. You'll notice the serpent is coil around the stone. Turn it until the head meets the tail. It does not seem as if it will be able to. But it will."

Darcy obeyed his instruction, and he smiled as her form disappeared with a soft glowing light, very similar to one of his illusions.

"Holy shit! Am I invisible?!"

Loki laughed. "Indeed you are."

"How do I fix it? What do I do?"

"Calm yourself. Simply twist the serpent until it releases, and you will reappear."

She obeyed his instruction, the soft glow of light once again bringing her back. The shock on her face faded as a slow smile took its place. She tested the magic again, disappearing and reappearing once more.

"You made a Necklace of Invisibilty?" she said, barely containing the excitement in her voice. Loki smiled, hope renewed that it wouldn't take long to get back in her good graces. His hope suspended when her face suddenly fell. "You're… letting me keep it?" she asked.

"As promised. Your adventure required enchanted treasure, did it not?"

"I can take it back to Earth?"

"It can go wherever you go." Loki did not want to examine the reason he chose to answer that way as she looked back down at the pendant hanging from the chain around her neck, quietly sitting in chair.

"It's just like in Harry Potter. Except it's not a cloak," Darcy said, a bit wistfully. "Thank you."

Loki was not sure how to take this sudden shift in her mood as she sat back down, more quietly than usual. "Is this not suitable?"

"No," she said. "It's perfect. How does it work?"

Loki breathed out heavily, gripping his knees as he searched back to when he had dabbled in enchantment. "I would have to look over a few of my old textbooks for an adequate explanation. It's been many years, and enchantment didn't hold my interest for long. I preferred to have my magic always available to me, rather than having it bound in items that could be more easily taken. All magic requires an energy source. The jewel is actually similar to what Midgardians call a 'battery.' The material is naturally occurring from Jotunheim, and highly valuable. Much more efficient and can last centuries before the power is expelled. This enchantment required binding a spell that I knew into the memory of the core. In practical terms, it took weeks of me casting the cloaking illusion with the necklace until it "remembered" it, so to speak. A more skilled enchanter could probably do it much more easily."

"It's amazing how much magic sound like programming," she replied. "Even in Midgard, people who are just good at things seem pretty magical. I used to think it was strange that people could just type a few words and it would appear like a color on a computer screen until I learned a programming language. You know Erik? Of course you know Erik. I know he's a total nerd. But he can seriously just listen to a car engine and know something is wrong with it too. One time he used a screwdriver held up to his ear to listen to the inside of my car and figured out what was wrong with it. It seemed like magic at the time."

Loki nodded, finding that he enjoyed her interpretations of things that he explained. Her anecdotes were as foreign to him as magic was to her, and yet she usually showed understanding when relating her personal experience with what he was saying.

"Experience does beget mundanity. Even for magic." He paused, gesturing towards her necklace. "Perhaps there will come a day when such enchantments are as commonplace to you as working on one of your computers." The arch of her right brow was becoming her tell that something dry was about to come from her mouth as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

"Not to worry. I always do better."