Jane had only a few hours' warning - Asgard evidently didn't get much more - before the evening when the palace was suddenly full of elves. Thor asked her to dress up and accompany him to dinner; she said she wasn't sure she had anything formal enough, and he said they could fix that. A very brisk dressmaker gowned her in a muted greyish beige that glinted gold and silver in the light, with a startling sweep of red from one shoulder that made Thor smile when he saw it. It clung and flowed and was surprisingly comfortable. Sif wore what appeared to be an armored dress and moved as naturally as if it were a second skin.

The banquet hall that evening seemed extraordinarily mysterious, full of leaping, glinting lights and shadows deeper than the dusk and torchlight could account for. There did seem to be a great many of the elven guests - some gleaming bright, some hard to see; some with glimmery wings; some like elongated humans, some like more or less anthropomorphic animals, and some almost like saplings that walked.

'They don't need the Bifrost to get here, I take it,' Jane murmured when they got a moment alone during a dance.

Thor shook his head. 'We would need it to reach their world, but they can pass between by means I know not.'

That was their last chance at private conversation. The music was loud and the dances lively, though thankfully easy to follow, and Thor was much in demand. He introduced her to a number of elves, but she never danced with any of them; if Thor was occupied, Fandral or Hogun or Volstagg was near at hand to whisk her off, and on one occasion when they weren't available, Sif intercepted the approaching dignitary herself. Jane asked her afterward what that had been about.

'Dancing with elves,' Sif murmured, 'isn't always good for the health. And while most aren't really hostile, some of them have an odd sense of humour about mortals. It's easier to just avoid the chance of an incident.'

The feast had begun early, evidently as a form of courtesy to the elven delegation, and it ended late. The guests scattered. Thor was called away. Volstagg left with his wife; Fandral left with evident plans to entertain an elf-woman; and Jane walked with Hogun and Sif through corridors where the light played more strangely than usual. Jane felt pleasantly weary but altogether too keyed up to sleep, with a definite urge for somewhere quiet to sit down. 'I think I'm going to drop by the library for a while,' she said. 'If it's not shut up at this hour.'

'I'm sure it would open for you even if it were,' Sif said, amused. 'But ask a guard to return you to your room.'

Jane gave her a puzzled look.

'The elves are officially allies of Asgard,' said Hogun, 'but they consider it only fair to bring representatives who disagree.'

'And many are sorcerers, who change glamours as we change clothing. Even Thor is better off being watched. I wish-' Sif broke off.

Hogun looked at her and sighed. Jane had a feeling she knew what they weren't saying.

After that conversation, it was something of a shock to see one of the elves in the library. Drawn up to his full height, which might have overtopped Thor a little, and talking to Loki. Loki looked better than when she'd first seen him, but very plain and stark just now, the over-prominence of bones in his too-lean face contrasted against the elf's delicate, perfectly balanced solidity and his simple clothing against finery. But he also looked - this time - as if none of that mattered any more than putting Thor in jeans and a sweatshirt. Self-possessed, slightly fierce without being out of control. Jane had to admire how he was carrying it off. Especially considering what Sif and Hogun had told her, and considering that Loki did not currently have the ability to do magic.

And considering some of that, too... she could return to the door and try to call them back. Or ask one of the guards outside. Instead she went around to the alcove and took a seat there, just out of sight of the elf though not of a couple of Loki's minders. Or of a particularly well-built man wearing a sword, and standing guard rather more openly. She didn't think she could exactly be inconspicuous in this outfit in a library anyway, even among the rich woods and golds of this one, but she wasn't trying to get attention either.

Although, she realised with some irritation, now she didn't have a book.

After some more unheard conversation the elf left, walking past Jane's alcove without paying her any apparent attention. Loki came around the edges of the bookcase a few moments later. Something had gone out of him with the departure of the elf, his eyes were a little wide and he looked both shaken and relieved, but he still held himself with confidence that hadn't been there before. The sight of Jane at the table gave him pause and he shot a glance after the departing elf before turning back to her.

'I suppose Thor thought they would be unlikely to come to the library,' he said, settling into the chair across from her. 'Are you here alone?'

She nodded a little. 'Sif warned me not to wander around on my own, but we assumed the library was okay.'

'I don't think he'll be back,' said Loki. 'He wasn't looking for a book, in any case.'

She paused at that, pushing her hair behind one ear. 'For you?'

'I think so. I have no idea how much they know about me, but he seemed unsurprised at finding me here. And he didn't do anything besides talk to me.' Loki looked rueful for a moment. 'I wish I'd had my armour. I feel like I greeted an ambassador in my nightclothes.'

Jane pressed a knuckle to her mouth, trying not to giggle. 'You didn't look it,' she said, quite sincerely. 'Not that I can't see what you mean, but you didn't look wrong-footed.'

He smiled at her, pleased with himself. 'Looking wrong-footed while talking to an ambassador wouldn't be a breach of etiquette so much as common sense.'

She supposed that applied particularly to potentially hostile ambassadors. 'Especially these ones? Or is it always like this?'

'It's never a good idea to show weakness to someone representing a nation. But, yes, especially these ones.'

Jane looked at him thoughtfully. 'Would you mind telling me about them?'

'What you might find most interesting to know,' said Loki, consideringly. 'Is that they're not from this dimension. Their space does not overlap with ours, but both overlap with the void. Politically they are...volatile. Their internal politics are extremely complex, and not put on hold while interacting with other nations.'

She nodded, wondering if that made more sense to her than it did to someone from an absolute monarchy that probably did a pretty good job of presenting a united front. Well... usually. Loki trying to conquer Earth might actually count as an exception. She wasn't sure if that would have had anything to do with somebody seeking out Loki. 'How does that work? In general terms. One of the very few things anybody got a chance to tell me was... that they could get to Asgard and back in some unknown way.'

'Unknown to most people. We always have the Bifrost, few seek other paths. And the ones the elves use aren't easy to stumble upon,' said Loki, smile turning from pleased to slightly smug and perhaps a little dangerous.

A small chill ran down Jane's neck at the expression and the gleam in his eye - and yet, it wasn't in itself a bad thing and from everything she'd learned about the spatial interactions, it was impressive. 'But you found them.'

'I found them,' he confirmed, voice dropping confidentially. 'The askreisa aren't just the closest stars in the void. They're the brightest, perhaps, or something different altogether. If you learn how to navigate by them, properly, not just lining things up in one place, they can take you all the way through.'

Jane opened her mouth to say that closest or brightest or something else altogether struck her as a very important difference, but then she drew back and considered that this was true from an astrophysicist's perspective but might not be for navigation. 'I've been trying to map how the starscape changes right around where they become visible,' she said instead. 'For myself, I mean. I'm sure it's all documented somewhere, but it's not the same as seeing it.'

'It's always best to see things for yourself. Be careful on the Bifrost, though. It's…a long way to fall.' He blinked away a haunted look and added, more matter of factly. 'Be careful around the elves too.'

It was a broad bridge, thankfully, and Jane felt no particular urge to go anywhere near the edge. But she appreciated the warning. 'I've been getting that idea,' she said. Then, 'Are their routes safer than-' She stopped, wishing she'd figured out a good way to finish that question before she started. Than travel by tesseract? Than the general principle Thor had warned her about?

'If you consider the Bifrost a bridge the elf paths are fords. You don't go as deeply into the void, but it's like picking your way through a swamp.'

Jane wasn't sure whether Loki had overlooked the implication or was ignoring it, but was somewhat relieved either way. 'Does it have bugs?' she asked, mostly joking.

'No. It doesn't have anything except varying degrees of emptiness.' Loki shrugged, gracefully. 'I usually went right through, once I'd worked out how. Midgard and Asgard are closer in Alfheim, so I traveled there and made two short journeys through the void. Alfheim has its own dangers, but it was easier.'

'Midgard and Asgard are closer in Alfheim?' Jane repeated, trying to form an idea of the structures involved without anything to write on.

'Alfheim is...it is sometimes called the shadow realm. If you take the shortest route from Asgard you will find yourself in a place with the same geography, Jotunheim, Vanaheim and Midgard have these doubles too with short ways between them. The elves used to make a habit of bringing mortals back through the paths from Midgard, to use as nursemaids or lovers.' Loki snorted. 'The usual analogy is two sides of a coin, with the void being the inside of the coin. It's not a very good analogy though.'

'If nothing else, because the void is a lot bigger than that,' Jane said, half to herself. Considering the stories Asgard had apparently inspired, she supposed it shouldn't be a surprise if the ones about elves had a basis in fact as well. And she could see where humans might have been easier to kidnap.

'Yes,' said Loki quietly. 'Jane, we call it the shadow realm. But to the elves we are the shadows, living in distorted, cut off, parts of their empire. And shadows merit little consideration.'

She felt cold all over, suddenly. As an experiment of sorts, she tried reminding herself that she was talking to Loki, and Loki's evaluation of threats and motives was at present more than a little compromised. But he was clear-eyed and serious now, and there were the stories, and he was not the only one who'd warned her. 'That,' she said slowly, 'somehow makes sense of a lot.'

'Just be careful,' he repeated. 'And never assume that kindness from an elf means they see you as a person. Most of them are weaker than Asgardians, so as long as you're wary and stay close to someone who can protect you, you should be fine.'

That, Jane thought, would be slightly more reassuring if people weren't worrying about Thor. Less ironic if she didn't know people who might give her a similar warning about Loki seeing her as a person. 'I'll remember.' She dropped her eyes, then looked up at him again. 'Sif and Hogun miss having you there to keep an eye on things.'

Loki looked oddly touched by the information. 'I didn't think they noticed,' he muttered, more or less to himself.

Jane hadn't been entirely sure how that would go over, but she'd still kind of felt he ought to know and she'd hoped he would appreciate it. 'I got the impression they thought you were the best at it.'

'I got the impression they didn't think they needed it,' snapped Loki. He looked more put out than actually angry, though, and still somewhat touched.

'I wasn't here. If that was the case then I guess they learned better.'

Loki sighed. 'Were any of them being remotely careful?'

Jane gave that a moment's thought before saying, 'I think they were all very alert, but I doubt being too openly wary is good either.' She got a very slight nod, either confirmation or go on. 'They tended to stick together, mostly, or come back to the group. They did a lot of dancing, but warned me off it. At the end of the evening... Well, Thor's with your parents at what I assume is an official meeting of some description.' She hurried over that part a bit. 'Volstagg went with his family... Sif and Hogun were together last I saw them. Fandral did leave with an elf but... uh, I get the idea he has some excuse for confidence there.'

'Of course he did,' said Loki, putting his hand over his eyes. 'Well, it's nothing he hasn't done before so there's a reasonable chance he'll come back in one piece.'

'I certainly hope so.' She could see Fandral not minding whether he was considered a person, for a one-night-stand, as long as they were both having fun. 'Is it more or less worrying that they were seeking him out?'

'Probably less. If more than one of them wants him then any that did anything permanent to him would be in trouble with the rest,' said Loki. 'At least it wasn't the Queen this time.'

Jane blinked. 'I... gather it has been before?' Which might mean anyone else could be in trouble with the Queen, but could be problematic if herwhims were hazardous.

Loki lowered his voice ominously. 'He's going to get cursed to speak only the truth for seven years any day now.'

It sounded so ridiculous she almost laughed, but held it back, because she didn't quite think he was actually joking and... there were ways for that to be very bad. 'I think Thomas the Rhymer got the rest of his life.'

Loki grinned. 'I don't think Fandral made quite that much of an impression.'

'And I suspect you'd have gone to get him before he managed to vanish for seven years.' Granted, that wasn't as long a period of time from their perspective, but it was surely long enough to notice.

'Thor wouldn't know whether to be worried or delighted at the chance of a quest.'

Jane snorted quietly at that. She was pretty sure he was joking, and it was less barbed than some of the things the group said to each other, so she was still smiling when she said, 'And you'd know your way around.'

'Quite well. All the same I'd rather not have to retrieve anyone.' He seemed to have almost forgotten, for the moment, that his power was gone and he couldn't use the elf paths if he did want to.

'I don't blame you.' Jane considered for a moment, then asked lightly, 'Any chance of stories from your trips there?'

Loki considered that for a moment, looking as if he was thinking of which story to tell not whether to refuse her, then looked at her and smiled. 'The first time I got there on my own...' he began.

They were good stories. Jane stayed in the library rather later than she'd intended, and she rather thought Loki's various attendants were enjoying them too. She only vaguely registered it when one of the guards from outside the library came in briefly - although Loki glanced up at him rather sharply - but when she finally returned to her room, safely escorted, Thor was waiting and hugged her with a long sigh.

'Long evening?' she ventured.

'I was expecting to find you here,' he said.

Jane leaned back in his arms to look at him. 'Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you...'

He smiled a bit. 'I asked after you and sent someone in to be sure you still remained safely within the library. But it is good to see you.'

'Good to see you too.' She leaned her head against his chest. 'How did things go?'

'Not poorly... but I'm glad it's not yet entirely my responsibility,' Thor said wryly. 'The dark elves are offering assistance with the Bifrost, and Father is very courteously declining. The trolls have presented formal objections to destroying Jotunheim and the dwarfs to the conquest of Midgard, and I am starting to think the light elves just came along for fun.' He released her with another sigh. 'Fandral is likely pleasing his guest for the night, and Volstagg stands watch over his children - but you and I will be expected to meet with them for breakfast, and they like the dawn.'

'Oops. Thanks for the warning.' One of Loki's attendants - Jane hadn't caught the name - had also eventually mentioned the elves' fondness for the dawn, although it had sounded more like please don't keep us up until then at the time. She might have left sooner if she'd realised how early she was supposed to be up, but she couldn't bring herself to regret staying as long as she had.

'How was Loki?'

Jane finished extricating herself from the gown. 'In a pretty good mood, actually. One of them apparently came looking for him and he grumbled afterward about being underdressed, but it looked like he handled it well. He spent a while telling me about the elves. I told him Sif and Hogun missed having him to keep an eye on them.' She glanced up. 'He asked if any of you were being careful.'

Thor blinked, then interrupted her progress toward the bath by sweeping her high off her feet and into another hug. 'He does care.'

Jane smiled into his hair. 'Yeah, I think he does.'