Winds of Winter ｡ Loki Laufeyson

3 - TRIBULATION

Greif seemed to follow Skadi everywhere that she went. As she laid in her bed unable to sleep by haunting dreams and insomnia, it was there; as she stood on her balcony to watch the sunrise and fall into the night, it was there; as she walked the many halls with a hollow feeling within in her chest, it was there; it was everywhere and no matter how hard Skadi tried she just could not escape it. Not even her father or Loki could help her now. She feared that she wouldn't be able to feel anything but thr grief and it's physical pain anymore, and that scared her because she didn't want to feel the grief and all the pain. In fact, she didn't want to feel anything anymore. She just wanted all of it to go away and for her mother to be back.

Walking down a hall, Skadi soon found herself coming to an unsuspecting pause. With heavy blue eyes, she glanced longing toward her favourite garden and she almost stepped off the stone path to enter the beauty of it ─ almost. Instead, she walked away, the memories of the time she spent with her mother inside this particular garden becoming far too painful. Unbeknownst to her, Loki had seen.

The prince had noticed the pained gleam shining like stars in her ice-blue eyes. He excused himself from his conversation with his mother to approach her with a gentleness in his step, not wanting to frighten her should she be consumed by her thoughts again.

He came a stop in front of her, causing Skadi to look with and meet his concerned gaze. In the blue, all could see was pain. There was nothing else but that. His heart clenched within his chest and he extended an arm towards her in silence. Skadi glanced toward it for a short moment before forcing a smile on her face ─ which was really a quick twitching of her lips, not even a small smile, really ─ then she wrapped her arm around his.

They walked in silence, passing Frigga who smiled softly toward them. It was a little while before Loki finally spoke his concern that Skadi could feel radiating off him in heavy waves.

"How are you?" Was his question, and it left Skadi hurting.

How am I, she thought with lips that formed a frown. How am I. She thought for many moments until ultimately deciding that she should give him an answer.

"I cannot even begin to put it into words ─ I am in much agony, Loki, that it hurts to even breath," she replied honestly.

"Is there anything that I can do to ease this pain?" Loki inquired softly.

She turned her head up so their eyes would meet. "Can you bring her back to me?" Loki's expression fell, causing her to nod sadly. "Then there is nothing anyone can do for me anymore."

"If I could, you know that I would," Loki spoke in sadness and it was true. If he had the ability to reanimate the deceased he would snap his fingers without hesitation just so Skadi didn't have to be in agony anymore.

"I know you would," Skadi spoke softly. Then she looked at him with a pained expression. "Why is it that you are the only one who seems to care about me, Loki?"

"What are you speaking of?" Loki asked with confusion.

"Surely I am not the only one who has noticed," she scoffed. When Loki continued to express his confusion with knitted brows and a blank stare, she sighed and began to explain. "My mother is dead and not even my friends have come to visit me. Nor have I laid eyes upon my father since my mother's body was floating down the water. I believe that only person who has ever loved, is now dead."