Colin had closed his eyes. He'd been staring upward along with Lily when the fabric of the sky was literally ripped apart by multi-colored light brighter than the sun. There'd been a sudden lurch and he'd felt his stomach drop as if he'd been riding the Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

When he finally opened them again, he wished he'd kept them shut. Before him was a giant of a man arrayed in burnished dark gold armor plate over leather trappings, his white blond hair done up in a thick braid at his back, beard trimmed neatly at his chin. He stood beside a set of high intricately carved stone doors which had been thrown open to reveal a polished black marble walkway, what lay beyond the walkway, however, was what made Colin drop his suitcase with a clunk.

"I've landed in fecking Disneyland..."

Lily glowered at him as she bowed to the man in front of them, "Thank you Heimdall. This is Agent Colin Denehy."

Heimdall's piercing tawny eyes moved to Colin then back to Lily, "They do not teach manners at this place you call Shield?"

"They do indeed, in fact Agent Denehy was about to apologize for his outburst."

Colin grunted as Lily drove her elbow into his side, "Begging...hnn!...your pardon, only I've not seen anything like this before." He opened his hands toward the vast city that loomed in the distance.

Heimdall frowned, "Of course you have not. This is the home of the gods!"

Colin chuckled, raised his hand, "I was raised Roman Catholic, meself..." he trailed off when he saw Lily narrow her eyes at him. "Sooo shall we be off now?"

"Does Milady wish for a cart to be called?" Heimdall nodded to Lily.

"No thank you, I think we're going to walk."

Lily started through the doorway, Colin following behind. As he passed Heimdall, he heard the creak of leather and he rushed to catch up with Lily, casting a glance over his shoulder at the giant as he closed the stone gates with a thundering boom.

He could feel Astrid's tears soaking into the shoulder of his tunic as he rubbed her back, stifling a sigh. Why now, of all time, must she choose to beg for my attention?

"Astrid, my love, there is much I must do today at the palace. I cannot bring you with me this time."

Her sobs had died down to sniffling hiccups but at this reaffirmation, she began to wail again, "Pa...pa...I...shall...b...be g..ood!"

Loki looked at Eidra who was now hiding a smile behind her hand.

"You are of no help, Eidra. She is going to wake the whole household." He muttered, kissing the top of Astrid's head, trying to set her back down on the floor but the child would have no such thing, all at once wrapping her long arms around his neck, clamping her knees about his waist.

"Astrid," He gasped as Eidra lifted her out of his arms and set her down

"PA..PA!" she wailed even louder until Loki knelt on the floor and she flung her arms about him again. He pushed her gently away from him, holding her at arms length.

"Now listen. I shall bring you a treat from the palace if you will but calm yourself. You will come to the palace with me again as soon as I may arrange it."

He could hear the rooster crowing in the distance, he should have been gone by now.

"Do you swear, Papa?"

Loki stroked the black silk of her hair, even at nearly four seasons, he could see she was going to have no dearth of suitors when she came of age and he bristled at the thought.

"I swear, my little sparrow." He kissed her forehead and stood up just as Brenna appeared in the doorway of the sitting room, yawning, a shawl wrapped about her shoulders.

"Gods help me, how can such a small child make such a clamor?"

Eidra leaned over and put her hands on Astrid's shoulders, "Your sister wanted to go with your father to the palace today."

"I could hear Bryn stirring in his bed as I passed his chamber door. You will have both of them to contend with if she does not hold her tongue." Brenna walked over and lifted Astrid onto her hip, "If you will keep quiet, I will let you lay down with me."

Astrid nodded, lay her head into the crook of Brenna's neck.

"And I must be going." Loki slipped his hand to the back of Eidra's head, kissing her, lingering until her lips moved against his, the resultant rush burying itself within his loins and he backed from her. "I cannot tell you what to expect when I return tonight, my heart. We too have been kept in the dark."

"Whatever happens, we shall deal with it together."

Loki held her chin at his fingertips a moment longer and headed for the foyer. Eidra stood in the silence of the sitting room. Overhead she could hear Brenna's muffled voice as she talked to Astrid. She sighed then. It was of no use, she was up for the day. She headed towards the kitchen to visit with Gretten as he prepared the kitchen for the day's cooking.

Loki was off Agathon's back almost before the stallion had come to a complete stop, tossing the reins to the servant boy standing in the courtyard and rushing up the steps into the palace startling the guards just inside the doors.

"Where is the King?" Loki called back to them as he passed.

"He is in the Great Hall with the High Council, Your Majesty."

"Damn," Loki muttered under his breath as he broke into a run.

He slid to a stop at the arched doors of the Great Hall, gaining momentum again as the royal guardsman swung them open for him.

The room fell silent as he took his seat beside Thor who whispered, "I am honored you have decided to grace us with your presence, brother."

"Astrid awoke and would not let me leave until I promised to bring her with me when next I came to the palace."

"Mmm," Thor waved a hand at him, "Very well. I shall overlook your tardiness."

Loki jabbed a finger into his side making him flinch, "And what was your excuse the week last? You overslept, I recall?"

Thor held up a hand to silence him as he stood from the long table, "Let us now begin."

Colin sat with his hands folded in his lap, suitcase at his knees, the same position Lily had placed him when they'd entered the palace. He was aware he hadn't been able to stop talking, exclaiming at the architecture, the statuary, the people, everything. His mind was sufficiently blown. Lily had guided him to a stone bench with dragon heads that looked oddly familiar carved into the arms and sat him down, standing before him.

"Agent Denehy, if this assignment is too much for you to handle, I can bring you back to the S.H.I.E.L.D office. We really need someone who can focus on their job."

Colin had waved his hands about him, "I'm that man, I swear, only can you blame me fer being gobsmacked? It's like walking through the pages of every fairy tale book I was ever read, fer fuck sake!"

"Agent," Lily leaned over to him, "This is where you're going to have to prove it to me. You will sit here quietly and wait to be brought before the High Council. When you walk into the room, you bow first to the king who will be at the center seat."

Colin had resisted the urge to jump from the seat, "I'm to appear before Thor? The God of thunder, really?"

Lily had waved her hands in the air impatiently, "Forget all you know of what you read in books. He is simply the king, you address him as Your Majesty. Simple as that."

"Begging yer pardon, what is the High Council?"

There was movement down the hall and Lily looked up, "The High Council is just what it sounds like, a group of high ranking Asgardians, the Aesir. They meet to discuss affairs of the kingdom, pass judgement. Picture in your head, Parliament, does that help?"

"Aye, at least I think it does."

Lily stuck her chin out and smiled, "My husband sits on the Council."

Colin's mouth dropped open yet again, "Your husband is an Asgardian?!"

"Yes, does that shock you?"

"The rules in the folder said..."

"No intimate relations with the residents of this or any other realm will be tolerated, I know.." Lily crossed her hands over her stomach, "We were wed long before the rules were made."

Colin had finally calmed down, watching the people coming and going, not a few of them returning his stare, nodding to Lily as they passed, and he waited..

"Midgardians in my household? Have you gone mad?" Loki hissed at his brother who summarily ignored him, continuing to read the parchment in his hand

"It has been deemed necessary for this liaison to smooth relations between the Asgardian people and the coming influx of Midgardians through my royal adviser, the Prince Regent Loki."

Loki sat back in his chair, head in his hand, mumbling"You said nothing of this when we spoke last evening."

Thor glanced at him as the Council members began to speak amongst themselves,

"Would it have made any difference? There is nothing to be done for it if we wish to foster a working relationship between our worlds."

"And I have said this is a dangerous decision even you..."

Thor scowled at him, "This is not a matter to discuss here. We will talk later."

Loki banged his fist on the arm of his chair, earning a look from a few of the council members which he returned with equal measure as Thor gestured to the guards standing beside the large doors at the end of the hall. "Bring in the Midgardian!"

Far down the corridor, Colin heard the groan of a door opening and he peered around Lily to see two men dressed in gilded armor, walking towards them.

Lily cocked her head at him, "Stand up. It's show time."

Thor had pulled Loki up from his chair and now they stood shoulder to shoulder watching the doors swing open. Lily walked into the Great Hall, followed by a tall thin man with short light russet hair. He was dressed in a tunic, breeches and boots. In his hand he was dragging a square satchel on wheels which he held before him when he stopped beside Lily.

Lily bowed, "Your Majesty, I present to you Agent Colin Denehy of Midgard. He is under the employ of our European division. He has been assigned as the liaison to your royal adviser."

If Colin had been watching her, he would have noticed Lily turn her head to her right and wink at a handsome young man with dark blonde hair but his attention was on the two men standing before him. He'd seen pictures of Thor in briefings at the agency, on the television, internet. The dark brooding man to his left could only be one man though why he was there at all so confused him that Colin was left speechless. He'd read all the material which he'd been cleared to read, ending with the imprisonment of the man before him. On the other hand, it had been years since the attack on New York, perhaps he'd been pardoned...

"Colin," Lily hissed, "Respond."

He blanched, trying to recall what the king had said, sighed, "Fergive me your Majesty, my mind was somewhere else. 'Tis the shock of it all."

He watched Thor frown, "I said welcome to the kingdom of Asgard."

Colin bowed, "Thank you, yer Majesty."

"I ken your job shall be to assure that relations between the Midgardians who will be coming here and my people are congenial, peaceful."

"Aye, in a manner of speaking. I'm here to oversee everything is done in accordance with prevailing law. No stepping on any toes and all that." Colin clapped his hands together, "So they sent me along early in order to learn what I needed to do me job right."

"It is my wish we will be able to establish an amicable relationship with the people of Midgard, so they will learn of our culture firsthand and we will in turn become more familiar with theirs."

Colin watched Thor pick up a sheet of paper before him, "You have been assigned to my royal adviser, the prince regent, Loki. He will educate you in protocol, laws, what we expect of the Midgardians. Furthermore, you will be a guest in his household, learning our ways, how we conduct out daily lives. You will see that we are not so different as you may think."

Colin had been holding his suitcase in a white-knuckled grip as he sought to unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth. Only when Lily elbowed him was he able to bow, "I will do me level best yer Majesty."

Thor nodded, clapped his hands, "This session of the High Council is now adjourned."

Colin looked at Lily as the council members began to rise and file out of the Hall, "I wasn't made privy to any of this."

"What do you mean? You were told about the assignment."

He saw the man with dark blond hair making his way towards Lily.

"I was told feck.."

He felt his hand being taken and squeezed, "Welcome to Asgard, Agent Denehy."

Colin looked at the ruggedly handsome man and nodded, "The pleasure is all mine." he grinned widely at Lily who slipped her arm into the crook of the man's elbow.

"This is my husband Garik."

He'd been about to expound upon how helpful Lily had been when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned about to see Thor standing behind him.

"Yer Majesty." Colin bowed then looked to Loki who stood beside Thor, his demeanor serious and Colin bowed again, "Yer Highness."

"I have warned my brother to have pity upon you." Thor put his other hand on Loki's shoulder though he wrenched himself from Thor's grasp, "He will be most accommodating." then to Loki, "You should retire from court early today and settle your guest at home."

"If nothing else, I will be home before sunset."

Colin felt he'd been judged and found wanting as Loki stepped forward, "I will have to provide you with a horse from the stables as well. I did not expect I would return to my house with a guest. Come with me."

"Begging yer pardon, yer Highness but...a horse?"

Loki stopped in mid stride, "You can ride can you not?"