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."

"Why do you say such things?" Loki looked upon her with a frown of disbelief. He could not believe the words that she just spoke. They came to a stop, Skadi's arm slowly falling from his own and returning to her side. He couldn't be

"I say these because they are is true. "

Loki shook his head, stepping forward to grasp her biceps gently and forcing their gazes to meet. "You are loved by many Skadi, but grief it . . ." He paused, stumbling for words. "It is unstable and can break a person. It makes you feel things you've never felt before and sometimes . . . sometimes you push the people that you love away because you want to be alone." Loki's hands slowly traveled down her arms, stopping to grasp her hands and hold them up in between them. "You father loves you dearly, never think such doubt."

Skadi blinked back her tears. "If he loves me, then why not comfort me like he did my mother when my grandmother passed on? Why not hold me like you do? He has never been one to show much affection, this I am well aware of, but if I were a mother and my child lost their father, I wouldn't dare toss them aside as if they were nothing to me at all."

Loki sighed. Perhaps she was right, but he stood firm in belief that grief is what was causing Ullr to push away his daughter. After all, Skadi does resemble her mother in many ways; it must be hard for him to look at her now and not see his beloved wife.

"Skadi─"

"Do not defend him," Skadi cried and Loki felt his heart break as he watched the many tears cascade down her pale cheeks.

With a sigh, he reached up to wipe them away. "Then I won't," he told her. "But allow me to say this at least." When Skadi remained silent, he continued, his features softening with each word. "You are not alone and you never will be. Have I not expressed this already that I will always be here for you?"

"You have," she mumbled her response, her heart soaring at her words. Suddenly his fingertips that were brushing against her skin made her stomach form knots.

"I mean it, Skadi," Loki spoke sincerely while drawing the pad of his thumb across her cheek. "I always will, no matter what."

Skadi managed a small smile, a smile that Loki was relieved to see if he was being honest, for it seemed that he hadn't seen her beautiful smile in ages. It caused one of his own to curve into his face.

Before Loki could say anything further, footsteps began to approach them. The pair turned to look ahead of them and found Odin Allfather surrounded by the remaining three Horae goddesses. They separated, Loki's hands dropping to his sides and Skadi quickly reaching up to erase every trace of her crying.

"My king," Skadi bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement.

Odin looked to his son. "Loki, my son, we must speak with Skadi at once with an urgent matter."

"Of course, Father." Although Loki nodded obediantly, he wanted nothing more than to stay with Skadi forever. However, he knew the consequences of diobeying your king, so he flicked his gaze toward Skadi and offered her another smile before turning on his heel and leaving.

Once Loki was gone, Skadi forced a smile onto her face as she looked upon Asgard's leader, wondering in her mind what he has come to her about. "You say urgent matters, my king?"

Chestnut, curly hair tight in a bun revealed her worried face as Emblr stepped forward in her stunning orange dress that clung to her every curve. She was beautiful, but everyone had a flaw and Emblr's was that a sword left a mark reaching from just under her right eyebrow and ending above her right eye, leaving the memory of her first time in the training yard upon her face for everyone to see.

The Goddess of Autumn laced her fingers and placed them loosely over her abdomen. "It is time, my dear," she said with an intensity that caused Skadi's heart to quicken.

Idunna threw a sharp stare toward her fellow sister-goddess before looking upon Skadi with soft features. "What Emblr means, Skadi, is that we are terribly sorry for your loss and we would like to offer our most sincere condolences."

"Thank you," Skadi numbly replied to the same words that she has heard so many times over the past couple days. The were beginning to get old and reminded her that her mother was gone forever.

"Of course," Idunna smiled sadly. "She was a good woman, your mother. She'll be missed dearly."

"Yes," Skadi agreed. Her could feel her eyes begin to sting and her throat to tighten. She swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking again. "She will be."

"Dear," spoke a new voice, drawing Skadi's gaze toward her. Big, round blue eyes carrying nothing but compassion within them, set softly upon Skadi. Fair, tanned skin graciously complimented her eyes and cheekbones and left a captivating memory of her fortunate looks of long and silk-like golden hair and a beautiful smile that many fight to see. This was Ostara, Goddess of Summer, and truly she did radiant like the sun itself. Her rule was fitting.

Ostara took one step forward. "We know that you are hurting still, but it is time to fulfill your purpose to the Nine Realms. We chose to give you a couple days to grieve out of respect for your loss, but without our fourth sister we are not as strong as we once were."

Skadi felt her body tense up. She had been too consumed by grief to even realize what would now happen; with her mother gone she would become the next in line for the title. She would become the Goddess of Winter. She always knew this would come but never this soon in life. She wasn't prepared to take on all of this responsibility with a heavy heart still beating sharp pains throughout her body.

A shakey breath fell from the young woman's lips. "I . . . I can't."

"You must and you will," Odin spoke sternly. "This is your destiny, Skadi, just as it was your mother's before you and her mother before her. And in the future, your daughter will have the same fate."

"Forgive me, my king, but I . . . I'm not ready. I have no knowledge of what to do once amoung the Horae. Is there no other way to prolong this until I─"

"My word is final," Odin interrupted with slight irritation, causing Skadi to bow her head. Beira hadn't been this way, he thought as he peered toward the fallen goddesses daughter. She took the title without hesitation and even if she struggled for a little while, she overcome all of it in the end. He could sense that Skadi was going to be different, which worried him only a little bit, as in a couple months it would be fall and soon after that, Skadi's season.

"The Consummation Coronation will take place in two days outside the Palace of the Horae. Until then, Ostara will prepare you." Odin nodded once toward Ostara before turning on his heel without another word, his long, golden cape drawing across the stones as he walked.

"It will all be alright in the end, Skadi," said Idunna. She used a hand to brush back stands of her long, chestnut hair that framed her face perfectly when a light breeze brushed through the stone pillars that stood as fences along the stone pathways. Her warm brown eyes focused on Skadi, who did not meet her gaze, the young woman clearly in shock over the news given to her by their king.

Sharing a glance with her sisters, Idula then gave a nod, silently suggesting that they should leave Skadi to process the news on her own. After all, she appeared to be trying to keep in many tears because of their presence. So, in silence, the three turned around and left.

Skadi remained frozen in her place for ─ well, she wasn't really sure how long. All she knew was that tears were spilling down her face and few people that walked by were looking towards her, and yet none of them dared to approach her. Before she even knew it, her numb body was turning around and walking at a fast pace down the halls, heading towards her bed chambers, the only place where she seemed to be able to cry and not be stared at with eyes of pity.

Skadi didn't get very far when Loki suddenly pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning against ─ the prince having been waiting for their conversation to end ─ and he grasped her arm. Their eyes connected and he said nothing as she collapsed against him, worry once again consuming him as she began to soak his tunic with her melancholy tears.

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a/n: Only two more chapters before Skadi's coronation! I hope that you guys are ready for the inevitable chaos!