Grace Stark knew the news was going to be bad from the way the Council of the Court was fidgeting when she sat down at an emergency meeting called by her least favourite Warrior Three, Fandral. She had asked him why he called the meeting and he simply told her that she would have to attend to find out. Irritated by his assumption that she would attend, she had considered skipping, but when Loki had asked her to join him at the meeting, she had obliged.

She was still irritated when she settled into her seat with her cup of tea. She asked Loki what they were doing here, but Thor quickly called the meeting to order and he had no time to answer.

Thor looked grim, "I have ill news from Vanaheim. The rebellion has gained momentum and it hundreds of villages have been burned to the ground. Our aid has not quelled the violence and in many places arrival of food and shelter has been met with more bloodshed. People are starving. Freyja cannot grant asylum to all who have sought it in her walled city- there simply is not space. Encampments have been set up outside the walls, but the rebels incite violence there and have started stealing whatever they can from the refugees. Freyja fears for her people and has asked for our assistance."

Fandral continued, "Our men on the ground in Vanaheim have reported that the rebels began as a secessionist group wanting Vanaheim to no longer be under Asgard's rule. When our ambassadors could not address their concerns about Asgard's leadership quickly enough, they began to threaten action against any village that wished to remain under Asgard's rule. The question had been before the people in Vanaheim's last elections for regional ambassadors to Freyja's council and the outcome was clear- most of Vanaheim is, at the least, comfortable with Asgard's leadership. The rebels were true to their word and began burning villages, blaming Asgard for not protecting them and using their own violence as a recruiting tool. I admit, our record in addressing Vanaheim's needs has not been spotless, but we have been doing much better the past few centuries and Freyja reports her realm to be thriving. Our men on the ground can attest to this, as regional poverty has fallen and it appears that the infrastructure is supporting the populace very well. Unfortunately, what began as a small group of rebellious citizens has swelled into a small, well-armed militia that seeks chaos and is aided by mercenaries from multiple realms- they are highly destructive, incredibly cruel, and have executed numerous village leaders, city officials, and at least two regional ambassadors. We have met with regional leadership in Vanaheim and they have unanimously asked that we send our army to assist them. Ladies, gentlemen...Asgard has been asked to go to war."

The room was silent as everyone absorbed the situation at hand.

Sif was the first to speak, "The Council must make a recommendation to either support Vanaheim or leave her to her own defenses. Is there anyone who would like to discuss this further, or should we vote?" When no one spoke, she turned to her right and asked yes or no. Only Grace abstained from voting. Only two of the council members voted against assisting Vanaheim.

When the vote reached Loki, he spoke solomnly, "So be it- Asgard shall go to war."

Thor sighed, "Indeed, we shall. I had hoped that our diplomatic methods would have stopped this madness before we reached this point, but it is not so. Loki, I ask that you fight beside me as my general. You have a mind for strategy that could help us end this far sooner and I will need your thinking close at hand. Will you?"

"I shall do as you wish, Brother, though not without reservations."

"Understood. Given that my queen has insisted on fighting beside me, do not think I ask this lightly. Three members of the royal family on the battlefield is not the wisest decision and if I thought we were likely to lose, I would not ask this of you. That does, however, leave the matter of who will be Steward to the throne in our abscence." He paused and it was clear that there were others holding their breath for this news as well, "Grace. Will you sit as Steward?"

Her voice was shaking as she answered, "I hope you know I have no fucking clue what I am doing, but yes. I will."

"I have every confidence in you, Sister. I will ask Father to advise you in the day to day workings of being king. The Council will now adjourn- I must ready the army and plan for this war."

Thor left quickly with Fandral close beside. Sif slipped over to speak to Loki and made it clear that he was to join them post-haste.

She placed a hand on Grace's shoulder before leaving, "Thank you. I have every confidence in your ability to take on the throne."

Grace nodded, still somewhat stunned by what she had just accepted, "Loki...do you have to go right away?"

The room was quickly emptying and Loki caught Sif's eye as she left to find Thor, "Yes, I do. We will talk more this evening over supper- just you and I. Forgive me, but I must go." He kissed her cheek and left her in the now-empty room.

She dropped her head onto her crossed arms, her nose touching the table as she whispered, "Fuck fuck fuck" to herself. She was completely overwhelmed by the idea of taking on the throne. There was nothing about Thor's decision that made sense to her. She wasn't even officially a member of the royal family, having never married Loki- they were best friends, partners in everything, and lived together like they were, but in the eyes of Asgard, they simply were not and she was not a royal. Even though Thor treated her as such, even though he always called her his sister and gave her the ceremonial duties accorded to a crown prince's wife, she still heard the comments from the guards and from some of the members of the court. Even after over a milennia living beside Loki, she was still just that woman from Midgard that Loki brought back from the dead and somehow granted long life.

She did not hear the footsteps that must have accompanied the person who laid a hand on her shoulder as she was lost in thoughts, so much that she jumped when she felt that touch and heard the steady voice that followed, "I have been told that my son has granted you a great duty."

"Odin, you scared the shit out of me!"

"For both our sakes, I hope you mean that metaphorically." He was smiling, amused, as he sat down beside her. While he had, at first, been disarmed by her casual language, he had grown to see it as a part of her over the past thousand years and no longer believed, as he had the first time he had heard her curse in general conversation, that she had no respect for him because of it. She simply was Grace Stark, and she was not going to change her language just because he was Odin.

"Yeah. Metaphorically. But it could have been literal, so don't be so damn sneaky- give a girl some footsteps of forewarning or something!"

"I shall endeavour to be more noisy in the future. Especially as Loki asked me in passing to be your shadow in the coming days."

"Yeah. Grace Stark, Steward to the throne of Asgard. How bad am I going to screw this up? Better yet, why didn't Thor just ask you? It's not like you haven't done this before."

"I cannot take the throne- it would undermine all Thor has done to set his reign apart from mine and would drive a wedge between those who embrace his new ways and those who wish I was still king. As it stands, they are peaceful knowing that I will not accept even a stewardship. Were I to do such a thing, it could lead to rebellion."

"That would suck."

"Yes, it would. And to answer your other question, you do not have to worry about your performance as Steward. You are one of us, and this will help to cement your role as a royal in the hearts and minds of Asgard. You will not be alone, and you do have the Council to consult with as well."

"I wish I had your confidence. All I can think about is that I'm going to be doing something huge with no idea how while my best friend tries not to get himself killed. As if that wasn't stressful enough."

Odin nodded, "And in that you will not be alone, either- I assure you, I will be most concerned about my sons both being at war. As will many of our people. We are not so different than those we lead." He rose, "You had best rest. I have no doubt Loki will need you greatly when he retires this evening. He is far more sensitive than I had ever thought a son of mine would be."

Once out of earshot, Grace replied, "And how am I ever going to make it if I lose him?"

Hours later, Grace heard the door to their chambers click shut as Loki entered unusually quietly. She was sitting in the window with a book and he approached cautiously, as though he was afraid that anything he said would be upsetting. He distracted himself, diverting to set the table and hoping that she would speak first.

"So...how'd the war planning go? Any chance of getting there, getting everybody drunk and singing some Beatles, and coming home unscathed?"

Loki almost smiled, "No, my love, I am afraid not. The situation is far too dire for even Jude to solve."

"Damn. Are we going to be OK?"

The sadness in her voice was almost tangible and Loki felt his heart sink, "I do not know, Gracie. I hope so. I hope we come home safely, but with war, nothing is certain."

She threw her book hard at the wall, "Fucking hell!" She tucked her knees to her chest and hugged them tight. Loki went to her and gently brushed his fingers through her fire-engine red hair, "Don't touch me, I'm grumpy."

He did not step back, "You are a resiliant woman and you will survive even if I do not. You can handle far more dire circumstances than you like to admit. Your childhood alone is proof of that."

"Just because I was repeatedly pimped out by my aunt doesn't mean I can handle my best friend dying in war."

"You survived Izzy's death, you survived the loss of your brother...you are stronger than you know. And it is not as though I plan on doing much dying. I have been to battle before and survived. I have survived Thanos. I will come home."

"Yeah, but...what if you don't?" She propped her chin on her knees and looked up at him with damp eyes.

He could not answer, so instead wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his cheek close to hers. They sat in silence, unmoving, until they heard a knock on the door as a servant brought their supper.

For the next few days, Grace refused to talk about the war. She shadowed Thor on is daily duties as king and she tried her best to understand just what it was she would be expected to do as the Steward, but she disappeared when it came time to talk about strategies for battle or to inspect the army. She detached herself from the entire process until she was forced to deal with it.

With only a few days before the army was to depart for Vanaheim, Odin led them through how the procession that would send off the soldiers would work. There would be garlands of flowers laid at their feet, the brothers in their royal splendor leading the men, Sif and the Warriors Three behind the king and prince, and a chariot for the home front at the end of the line where Grace would stand as Steward, but also as a symbol for all the families left behind. It was a role that would have been filled by Frigga, had she been living.

It was during this conversation that Grace realised just what big shoes she had to fill and she felt a bit like panicking. Loki took her hand and the conversation paused while Grace tried to centre herself. When she seemed a bit more calm, Odin continued, outlining where and when the traditional speeches would take place and what would happen after.

Grace left with a stack of papers and no idea what she was doing acting the part of the Steward. She went back to her closet and stared at it, trying to figure out just what would be appropriate to wear to such an ostentatious event and decided that nothing she owned was elegant enough. Loki, however, knew just what to do and returned to their chambers with a small trunk.

"This should help you. Father sent a few of Mother's things."

"This is all cementing my belief that I am so out of my league that it isn't even funny. This is crazy. How am I supposed to do all this? They're going to be comparing me to your mom both in what I do and what I wear."

"Mother had her own quiet elegance, it is true, but I assure you, there will be no comparison to what you do with these garments. I have every bit of faith that you will do things in your own way."

"How am I going to keep a kingdom going? I kill houseplants."

"Ah, but you do not need to remember to water a kingdom. Asgard will do quite well if you simply ignore it and let daily life continue as it always has. In the time we are away, I doubt there is much that could go awry."

"Now that you say that, something super crazy is going to happen and you know it."

"Well at least it is something you can anticipate as certain, now that it has been said. Please, though- do look through this trunk. The parade to war is something we all can, at the least, anticipate going the same way it has gone for centuries."

"Just wait, my horse will trip."

"It would not be the first time."