"What?!" I yell, toppling over my chair when I shoot to my feet. "You're telling me Loki is the one responsible for all those deaths? For all that destruction?"
                          
Thor nods gravely. "But be assured, my lady, he has been punished for his deeds. Our father Odin imprisoned him on Asgard and S.H.I.E.L.D. did the same when we came on Earth to find refuge." Thor looks at me, waiting for me to process this.
                          
And I'm not processing this all that well. My mind is racing. I served that man tea. Hell, I even started caring for him! Loki, the God of Lies. A deceiver indeed.
"He's a terrorist. A murderer. He should be in jail!" I shout at Thor.
                          
"And there he is right now, for a while anyway. I've arranged for him to be out again in a few days."
                          
I can't believe my ears. "Why?! For the love of God, why should he get out of jail? He deserves to be there, for all that he has done." In my anger I have closed the distance between me and Thor until there's just a few inches between us.
                          
"Well, for practical reasons first." Thor says dryly, looking down his nose to me. "The people of Asgard don't have a home anymore, so we need a new one. I'd like that to be on Earth. But for the people to accept us, they have to see us, get to know us. And that includes my brother."
                          
I shake my head at him. "I know one thing the public doesn't know about Loki and I don't think you want that to get out," I say bitterly.
                          
"It would surely not help our case," Thor agrees.
                          
"Then why... why are you telling me this?"
                          
"Because I saw a change in Loki, I have seen there is still good inside him," Thor says in a pleading voice and he grabs my shoulders. "But he needs you, Ylva. He needs you to be his light."
                          
I step back, shaking off Thor's hands. "What are you talking about? What light? Why would a terrorist need me?"
                          
Thor shrugs a bit helplessly. "I'm a warrior, not a philosopher. It has something to do with light and dark, Heimdall explained it to me," he says, fumbling for words. "You are Loki's light, you can help him!" he adds firmly.
                          
"Well, then I guess you guys can go to Home Depot to buy a light bulb, because I'm not gonna help a murderer!"
And I leave Thor standing in the alley, slamming the door to the coffee shop behind me.
                          
I get through the rest of the day in a haze. I mess up orders, drop a plate with muffins and almost start crying when Mrs. Willow asks me if something is the matter.
                          
After dinner I crash on the couch, and I haven't moved yet, when I hear a knock on the door that connects our apartment with that of my aunt and uncle. Lars sticks his head around the door and asks if he can come in. Not saying anything, I sit up to make room for him on the couch. I pull my legs up, my big sweater over my knees, crossing my arms around my legs. Uncle Lars puts an arm around my shoulder and all of a sudden I start crying. He doesn't say a word and just waits until I'm calmed down again. That takes a while.
                          
"Do you want to talk about it?" my uncle asks softly when my sobbing has ceased.
                          
"I... I don't know. I don't want people to freak out."
                          
"I promise I won't freak out," Lars says. "And holding it in will not do you any good. You can tell me, dear."
                          
And I do. First I tell him about how Loki has used magic to keep people at bay in the coffee shop - to which my uncle chuckles and says he suspected as much - and how the prince has healed my hand. Then I tell him about the metal bracelets and the tracking device Tony Stark injected. I even tell him about what happened in the parking garage, how Loki scared me with his violent reaction.
                          
"I can imagine that was very scary," my uncle says, giving me a squeeze. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
                          
"I didn't want you to worry, I'm sorry," I say quietly.
                          
"Prince Loki is a very proud man," my uncle muses. "And Asgard is a realm of warriors. Warriors with very long lives and other superpowers. No wonder the people of old thought they were gods. I can imagine the prince would not take it lightly if people wanted to restrain him. If the myths have any truth in them, Loki and Thor are much more powerful than us regular people."
Lars is silent for a moment. "But that is not an excuse to behave like that, especially when you are a guest on Earth. However, I don't think that's all that is troubling you. Is there something else you wish to tell me?"
                          
I hesitate. Yes, Loki is a terrorist and a murderer. But if I understood Thor correctly, the people of Asgard need to stay on Earth. If it becomes known their prince is a terrorist or a war criminal, the people of Earth would turn against them all. I would not want that to happen, their home is destroyed, they deserve a place to stay.
"It's difficult. Thor told me Loki has done something bad. Something very bad," I shudder.  "He was in jail, on Asgard and on Earth, but they let him out for publicity reasons. Him and Thor are the face of Asgard and now their world is destroyed they all need a new home."
                          
My uncle had not heard about Ragnarok actually taking place, so I tell him what little I know from Thor and Lady Eir.
"So that's why there is a publicity campaign; to make the people of Earth warm up to the Asgardians, so they can live among us," my uncle says.
                          
"Yes, and I guess as Asgardian royalty, Thor and Loki have to lead the way."
                          
My uncle nods and thinks for a moment. I like that about him, he's always calm, taking things as they come. I don't think his wife and daughter would have reacted so cool and collected to this. "Can you please not tell Yvonne and Lisa about this?" I ask my uncle. "They would just freak out."
                          
Lars smiles. "Alright. But then you have to tell me what this all has got to do with you. Why are you mixed up in this?"
                          
And I tell him what Thor said, that Loki needs me because I am supposed to be his light. "But that sounds like total BS to me, so I told him to buy a light bulb at Home Depot."
                          
That gets a chuckle out of Lars, but he is serious again when he tells me: "Who knows Ylva, maybe you find yourself in the middle of a modern day myth."
                          
"Yeah right," I scoff. "Just like a fairy tale. Maybe Yvonne is my fairy godmother."
                          
"Well, her muffins taste magical, so who knows?!" Lars jokes, and with that our talk takes a lighter turn.