Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 21

Loki's eyes widened. "A spell? What do you mean, Mother? What does the spell entail?" Loki asked with an excitement that nearly woke Morgan in his arms. She might've been awake or asleep. He couldn't tell either way. He wanted nothing more than to give Morgan her sight back.

"All magic comes at a price and the price for this spell is high," Frigga warned. It was clear Frigga didn't want to tell Loki about it, that even knowing about the spell might be too tempting. And for some reason she didn't want Loki to attempt it.

"What is the price, Mother?" Loki pressed. He had to know what this potential cure entailed. He had to know what it would cost to give his love her vision back.

Frigga sighs and hesitates again before she says. "The sight in one of the spellcaster's eyes in exchange," she finally said. She spat the words out before she lost her courage.

Loki was shocked, but only for a minute. He was a master magician after all and knew what these kind of spells entailed. All magic had a price. The bigger the magic, the bigger the cost. This was no exception. Loki finally nodded with a sigh. "I thought as much," he said, and it was true once he actually thought long enough to realize it.

Frigga nodded and left the subject be. For now. It was too early in their relationship for such a big sacrifice. So Frigga would keep the how of that spell to herself until Loki pressed her for more information.

*

Loki gave Morgan the locket when she woke again, explaining it and how it worked to her since she'd been so out of it that she hadn't remembered much about the locket at all. Loki wasn't surprised, visions of the future were a big magic.

They spent about a month on Asgard. Frigga wanted to make sure Morgan was completely healed from the apple and that she had a firm foundation in how to use her magic before she returned to Midgard under Loki's tutelage. Morgan flew through her magic lessons, though the effort to master as much magic in as short a time as possible left her drained and taking frequent naps. That didn't mean Loki didn't show her all of the wonders of Asgard. He just had to be careful with how hard she was pushing herself.

Loki didn't mind the way she would curl herself in his arms at night or how she'd use his lap as a pillow. She preferred to stay near him in the strange realm. He didn't mind at all. He preferred having her nearby where he knew she was safe.

*

They were curled in Loki's bed toward the end of their visit to Asgard when a noise from Loki's sitting room startled them. It was the sound of someone coming into the sitting room, louder than a maid, but someone who knew Loki well enough to enter his sitting room. "Loki? Are you in here?" Sif asked from the sittingroom. Even she wouldn't come further into his domain than his public areas without leave.

Loki's brows furrowed at Sif being in his suite. She wasn't a frequent visitor. "Come in, Sif. I will be right there!" Loki called. He and Morgan made their way quickly into the other room to find out what Sif could possible need from them. Loki led Morgan, keeping her close, wary as to why Sif might be there.

Sif smiled at the pair of them, nodding a greeting to Loki. She had stepped further into the room and closed the sittingroom door behind her. "Morgana, good, you're here too. I had hoped I would find you with the Trickster," she teased Loki goodnaturedly. Morgan stored that information away. Despite what Loki said, he did have friends. Even if this one was technically Thor's first.

Loki gave her a look. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you, Sif, but your visit is unusual," the words are a statement, but Loki's tone is a demand for an answer.

Sif nodded, hestiated a moment, then spilled words to make Loki's heard drop. "Your father sent me,"