Astyr woke up Saturday morning anxious about what to expect that day. Her grandmother was sending two people, well two Alfar people, to come live here and teach Astyr about the ways of her mother's people and to find out just how closely related she was to them. She was very nervous about this meeting because her only other contact with them had been when her grandmother had tried to kill her and everything she had heard about them made her think that they weren't the friendliest of beings.

She gave a frown about that and told herself not to be prejudiced against them. It wasn't like her grandmother had no reason to be upset about losing her daughter. Maybe the fact that she was angry proved that she had emotions after all. Astyr continued her internal dialogue by reminding herself that she would be stuck living with these two for the next two and a half years so she should try really hard not to give them a reason to make her life harder than it had to be.

She got up and took a shower and after dressing casually in some jeans and a comfortable hoodie she went down the back stairs to the kitchen. There was a lively conversation already in full swing as everybody tried to find out as much as they could from Frey about the expected new arrivals and Frey was doing his best to answer questions coming from all sides.

"Before I left," he was saying to Grima, "Queen Elianna had decided on only one of them. Her name is Laure and she is widely respected as a teacher amongst the Alfar. She's not royal, but she has worked for years teaching their children. I've met her and she is very intelligent. You should get along with her well, Grima."

Grima answered him, "Well, that's good, but do you have any idea of who she might choose to send with her?"

Frey sighed and shook his head. "I don't know but I did get the impression that she was planning to send someone who was trained as a warrior. She doesn't just want Astyr tested and taught, she wants her protected and guarded as well."

Hakon broke in at this point. "We're doing just fine with protecting her so I guess whoever she sends won't have that much to do."

"Queen Elianna doesn't just want her protected from humans, Hakon." Frey admonished him. "She also wants to prevent history from repeating itself."

Astyr's jaw dropped open in surprise and she couldn't stop herself from exclaiming. "So what, she's sending someone to keep everyone away from me until she marries me off to someone she likes!"

Everyone made sympathetic murmurs but nobody offered a denial to her statement. "She can't do that!" Astyr went on. "She has no right to tell me what I can and can't do with my life. If it was up to her, I wouldn't even be alive now!" She was working herself up into a rare tantrum and Grima reached over to pat her arm and try to calm her down.

"Don't you worry, dear." Grima said. "We'll do our best to negate Queen Elianna's influence here as much as possible. All you need to do is concentrate on having as normal a life as you can for now."

Astyr just shook her head and kept her gaze on her hands in front of her on the table. "And how on earth am I supposed to have a normal life? There hasn't been anything resembling normal for me ever since I came here."

There were a few kind glances sent her way but Tyr spoke to her sharply. "No, Astyr, it was the rest of your life that was not normal. You are not human and what you are facing now may seem overwhelming but it is important that you understand that no matter what happens with your grandmother you are a very special person. You may have more obstacles in your path than most people, but you are destined for big things and we are all trying to help you to be prepared. You may feel like this is unfair, but at least you are not alone anymore."

Astyr was saved from breaking down in front of everyone by the doorbell ringing. Frey got up and went to answer the door and everyone else waited patiently for him to bring the new houseguests in. When he brought them into the kitchen, everybody stood to welcome them and be introduced.

The two Alfar were incredibly young looking; they could both easily pass as teenagers with their smooth skin and bright blond hair. The female was wearing jeans and a white quilted jacket with her long white hair hanging loose around her shoulders while the male, who was looking at them all with a surly expression, was clothed from head to toe in tight black leather. His hair was long in the front and swept off to the side but was short and spiky in the back. His nose was straight and a little thin and his mouth, which was turned down into a sneer was wide with full lips. His cheekbones were high and razor sharp and above them were his deep-set eyes that slanted up like a cat but were a pale shade of silver.

He looked around at everyone as introductions were made but only spared a greeting for Tyr to whom he was only coolly respectful and Astyr who he spent a long time staring at while Frey gave everyone his name and title. "Tyr, may I present to you his royal highness, Prince Glin. Prince Glin is the oldest nephew of Queen Elianna and is second in command of the Alfar Royal Guard." Tyr welcomed him without a smile and Frey went on to introduce the girl with Glin. "This is Laure, she will be working with Grima to examine Astyr and she will also be instructing her on the history, customs and general knowledge of the Alfar people."

Laure smiled warmly at Astyr and she was welcomed by both Tyr and Grima who was quick to point out to everyone that they would have to alter the living arrangements as Laure couldn't possibly live in the apartment over the garage with Glin. "You kids will have to move my things out of the extra room I was using as a study and Laure can have that room." Laure tried to protest but at a sour look from Glin she thanked Grima for her kindness.

After they finished eating breakfast, Hakon and Gunnar went upstairs with Grima to start moving her things while Astyr went with Laure to help her bring her bags in from the car. Astyr's eyes almost popped when she saw the car. It was curvy, sleek and a shiny black with windows tinted so dark she couldn't see through them. It had four doors but looked more like a sports car than a sedan. "What kind of car is that?" She asked Laure in surprise as they were standing on the wide stairs in front of the house.

Astyr was shoved to the side as someone pushed roughly past her. Glin looked back at her without apologizing and said, "It's a Maserati. Haven't you ever seen a decent car before?" She didn't know what to say to his blatant rudeness; the truth was that she didn't know that much about cars, especially expensive Italian ones, but she didn't have a chance to think about it when Laure spoke up to Glin. "Don't be rude, Glin. You know you're here to help your cousin, not make trouble, so please try to be civil like Queen Elianna ordered."

Glin apparently didn't like being called out by Laure and he also didn't seem to like being reminded that he was here under command. His eyes flashed at Laure and he sneered at her before turning to open the trunk. He waited while they took Laure's bags out and as they carried them back into the house, he drove around to the garage.

"He seems really nice." Astyr said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Laure chuckled at that and said, "Just wait until you get to know him. He's the type that grows on you, like mold."

Astyr couldn't help laughing really hard.

The rest of the day was spent in bustling activity moving things around and getting people settled and everyone went to bed late that night exhausted.

The next day was bright but chilly and Laure asked Astyr if she would mind starting right after breakfast on her battery of tests. Astyr assured her that it was fine and so when they were finished eating they put jackets on and went outside to the patio around the pool.

They were accompanied by Grima, Glin, Hakon and Gunnar and Astyr felt almost like a lab rat with all eyes on her.

"Don't let them bother you, Astyr." Laure told her. "Just concentrate on me and try to answer any questions I ask right away."

"Sure." Astyr replied while nodding her head. "So what are you going to do? Grima already did a lot of tests to see how much energy I can absorb. Couldn't you just ask her how I did?"

Laure gave a small chuckle. "I could, but all the tests Grima did were based on how an Aesir absorbs energy. I want to see if you can do it the way an Alfar would."

Astyr raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Is it really that different?"

"You're about to find out." Laure replied. "Ok, I want you to stand here in the sun and close your eyes. Think about the warmth seeping into you. Can you feel the heat on your face?"

"Yes, I can." Astyr answered.

"Ok, good, now I want you to imagine pulling that heat down inside of you." Laure paused giving her a chance to follow the instructions. After a few minutes, Laure took Astyr's hand and there was a very small electric shock that passed between them.

Astyr jerked her hand away, "Ow! What did you do that for?"

Laure laughed and told her, "I needed to see how much energy you had absorbed, that's all. I'm not going to do anything that could hurt you."

"Ok, so how did I do?" Astyr asked.

"It was fine for a first try." Laure reassured her. "But now I want you to do more than just let the heat seep in. I want you to think about pulling it in as fast as you can."

Astyr closed her eyes and faced the sun again. It was a weak November sun and the air was cold on her face but as she stood there, she started to feel the rays of light warming her skin. She tried to picture the heat as a solid thing that she could pull into herself. The more she thought about it, the harder it seemed to get. It was like trying to pull wet cement through a fine sieve. She opened her eyes and turned to Laure.

"It just seems to be getting harder. Am I doing something wrong?" She asked in frustration.

Laure shook her head and said kindly, "Don't think about it too much. Just try to let your instincts take over once you feel the sun on your skin."

Once again, Astyr closed her eyes and faced the sun but once again she felt the heaviness of the heat and couldn't manage to pull any of it into herself. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter and her hands clenched into fists as she tried harder and harder with no progress.

There was a soft, haughty laughter from the chairs on the other side of the pool and her eyes flew open to see who was finding her difficulties entertaining. It was Glin who was sitting with his feet propped up on the table in front of him chuckling at her.

"I can't believe anyone seriously thinks you could possibly be a real Alfar." He said with a sneer in his voice.

Astyr blushed from embarrassment at his words and said the first thing that came to mind. "It's not like I want to be one so if you don't have anything useful to add to this maybe you should just leave."

Glin looked at her sharply and slowly put his feet on the ground. He walked over the pool, keeping his feet just above the water, until he was right in front of her and she had to tilt her head back to look at him. He glared down at her and said in a low voice, "If leaving was an option, believe me, I'd already be gone."

Hakon and Gunnar had left their seats and were coming around to them quickly. Glin just ignored them and took another step closer to Astyr. "Your grandmother thinks this isn't just a big waste of time so I have to babysit you until she realizes her mistake and puts an end to this. I am far from happy about being here but I'm not about to let my good reputation be spoiled by a weak little half-breed like you."

Hakon had reached them at this point and he grabbed Astyr's arm and pulled her away from the Alfar prince. "You're doing a pretty good job of ruining your good reputation all on your own." Hakon said to Glin. "If you don't have anything to say to her that's relevant to what's going on, keep your mouth shut." Glin had an outraged look on his face. He clearly wasn't used to being spoken to like this and he was momentarily too shocked to say anything.

Laure spoke up in an attempt to diffuse the situation and to get her project back on track. "Glin, we're trying to work here. If you really have to keep your eyes on her every moment of the day, please go sit and watch. Considering we're safe here at the house, perhaps you could take a break for a while and go do something else for now." Her logical diplomacy got through to Glin and he turned around and stalked off to the stairs inside the garage that led up to the apartment where he was staying.

Hakon rubbed Astyr's shoulder more to reassure himself that she was okay. "Don't let him bother you, Astyr." He said looking straight into her eyes. "If he gives you any trouble just let me know."

"Sure." Astyr told him. Laure called Astyr's attention back to the test and Hakon and Gunnar went back to sit down while Astyr spent the rest of the day trying her best to absorb heat from the sun with little real success.

Laure was patient with her and told her not to worry about it. "It often takes Alfar children quite a while to master the ability to spontaneously draw in energy. You're starting later than normal but I think that's the only thing holding you back for now. We'll keep working on this and once you learn to trust your instincts, you'll see how quickly it comes to you."

Astyr thanked her for the encouragement and before they went in for lunch, Laure added one more thing that took Astyr completely by surprise.

"Don't worry about Glin." Laure said to Astyr. "He's just still angry from finding out that Queen Elianna wants you to be her heiress. He's been the main contender for the position ever since your mother ran away, so he has a lot to gain if you fail."

Astyr stopped walking and took a moment to get over the shock. "Glin will be the next king of the Alfar if I don't take over?"

Laure stopped walking, too, and looked back at Astyr. "Yes, he will." She said. "So I really hope you are as talented as your grandmother said you were."

They both started laughing at that and walked into the house for lunch in a good mood like old friends.

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