I spent the day at Steve's side. We wandered the palace grounds, enjoying the vibrant colours of the plants and watched the Asgardian warriors training. I observed when Fandral challenged the Captain to a sparring match. Without his shield, Steve was beaten, but I think he could have taken Fandral with his preferred weapon. After that, we continued to walk around, talking about anything that came to mind. When he told me that he had studied art, I made him promise to draw a sketch of me sometime. Throughout the day, we would occasionally be joined by one or two of the Avengers, and Phillips pulled me away to discuss our course of action from there once, but in the end, it was me and Steve. It was a lovely day.

After dinner; I made my excuses to the others and slipped away. Steve escorted me to my room, ever the gentleman. "I enjoyed spending the day with you," Steve told me. I tilted my head, curiously.
"Captain, are you courting me?" I asked directly. Steve rubbed the back of his neck as he did whenever he felt awkward.
"I… I don't know. I just wanted to spend some time with you without the others… pulling us away all the time." I smiled, placed a hand on his chest, stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"It's been delightful," I told him warmly. "Thank you, Steve." Steve grinned, a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Ma'am," he nodded charmingly before turning and walking away with a spring in his step. I sighed, watching until he turned the corner before entering my room. I changed from my clothes into a light, white cotton gown and glided barefoot from my room. I wandered silently to the front doors and out onto the palace steps. A cool breeze blew and I turned my face into it, tilting my chin up and breathing deeply. I did enjoy my day with Steve; but I am a rather solitary kind of person. I need a lot of space.

I sat down on the steps and stared up at the sky; so clear, so bright with the light of innumerable stars. Unlike the sky back home, colours bled across the black. Silver, blue, purple, orange, pink, red. It was beautiful and spectacular and made me feel… even more insignificant than usual. Living with Asgardians, I felt small and young; Loki, in particular, liked to remind me of that. And this infinite sky spread wide above me served only to reinforce the idea. I turned my mind away from these dark thoughts and breathed deeply again. I concentrated on the feeling of the cool evening air on my skin, the tickling of my hair shifting in the breeze, the hard marble under my legs, the scent of the sea and the taste of salt. It was quiet; only the rustling of leaves and the distant sigh of waves met my ears. It was still and calm and a relief after all the time I'd been forced to spend with so many people. Finally, I could be alone with only the distant stars for company. When it became so cold that my fingertips went numb, I returned to my room, put on my night gown, and went to bed.

Green eyes fluttered open, skimmed over the surroundings and landed on me. Loki blinked, pushing himself into a sitting position in his bed. "I'm sorry, Princeling," I said softly. "I didn't mean to startle you." I was seated in the chair once more wearing similar clothes to the day before, but in red and black instead of brown and cream. Loki shook his head at my apology, rubbing his eyes.
"No apology necessary. I just wasn't expecting you, since you did not come yesterday." Loki looked at me calmly. "I didn't think you'd come back again." I smiled.
"Well, I wouldn't want to stifle you," I commented lowly, pouring two cups of tea. "And I needed a break myself, after spending the day with the Captain." Loki lifted a brow as I handed him a cup and saucer.

"Oh? Has that graceless oaf decided to start courting you properly?" he inquired. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Keep insulting my friends, Loki, and I'll pour the contents of the teapot into your lap," I threatened. Loki smirked.
"Of course, my spirited child," Loki agreed, blowing on the steaming gold liquid. The tea was Asgardian; I was unfamiliar with the brew, but I had grown fond of it since the previous morning's breakfast. I looked up at Loki's comment.
"You have never called me your anything before," I stated gently, looking into the depths of my cup.

Loki smirked. "Haven't I?" he wondered, swirling the liquid in his cup. "I wonder what that means."
"I think it means you have issues with other men paying attention to me as a woman," I stated plainly. "You think the Captain is starting to take having a relationship with me seriously, so you've started referring to me as 'yours' in order to stake a claim on me." Loki shook his head.
"That was not my intention…"
"That's what it sounds like." Loki thinned his lips as he looked at me coolly. I returned his gaze calmly over the rim of my cup as I drained the remnants of my drink.

"So, you are here simply for a retreat, then?" Loki inquired, dropping the possession talk. I sighed, pouring myself a second cup. I held the pot out to Loki and he offered his cup for a refill as I spoke.
"I don't know why I keep coming back to you," I replied. "Why don't you kick me out?" Loki shrugged.
"What else is there to entertain me?" Loki asked in return. I smiled, stirring sugar into my tea.
"Right," I acknowledged. "I love books, but I can't read all the time, either." Loki ignored me, sipping his tea. I tilted my head while he drank, watching his Adam's apple bob when he swallowed and the delicate way he held the handle of the china cup in his long, thin fingers.

Loki glanced at me and lowered his cup, quirking an eyebrow a me. "Yes, Carter?" I lifted a brow at him in return.
"Do you see anything else in here for me to look at?" I challenged. "At least you're pretty," I shrugged. Loki stared at me blankly for a moment.
"Pretty?" he echoed lowly. I nodded calmly, sipping my own drink.
"Yes. Pretty. Perhaps handsome. You're too angular and thin to be rugged or cute. You have very neat proportions and fine features. Very fine, for a man. So, pretty, I think. It's just another type of attractive."

"Oh, so you do think me attractive," Loki purred, grinning at me smugly. I snorted.
"I like you better when you're not wearing Stark's smile," I grumbled, drinking the last of my tea. I sighed. "Right, then. I'm leaving."
"That's it?" Loki asked, sitting forward slowly to get closer to me. "Tea, and then you go?" I looked at Loki from the corners of my eyes.
"Why? Do you want me to stay?" Loki shrugged.
"Not particularly," he answered, lying back again. I returned his shrug, standing.

"Then what reason is there for me to remain here?" A guard came and pushed two trays through the barrier.
"Her Majesty the Queen requested that a tray be provided for you down here, Lady Ellie. Your tray is the one on your right." I watched as the guard left before looking down at the trays.
"So, apparently your mum wants me to have breakfast with you," I commented with wry amusement. "I suppose that's a reason to stay." I shrugged and collected the trays. I handed Loki's tray to him. It was very plain; a hard, flat circular loaf of coarse bread, a bunch of grapes, and some strips of cured meat. Loki sneered at the food before plucking one of the grapes and tossing it into his mouth, sighing resignedly. My own tray had a warm, buttered roll, a poached egg, some crispy bacon, a sausage, and a scone with a dish of jam and a dish of cream.

I looked from my tray to Loki's and bit my lips. "Yes, enjoy my misfortune," Loki growled at me, eating another grape. I snorted.
"Misfortune, indeed," I scoffed. "You are a prisoner, Loki. You have no one to blame for your current predicament but yourself." That being said, I ripped off half of my roll, covered it in bacon and offered it to the prince. Loki looked at the roll and back to my face. "Say nothing and take the bloody roll," I hissed, leaning closer to him. Loki smiled slightly and took my humble offering with a nod of acknowledgement. I scooped my egg onto the other half of the roll and spread it like butter before covering it in the rest of the bacon and biting into it.

"So, tell me about your courtship," Loki ordered, leaning back against the wall and watching me calmly. I shrugged again.
"It's not really a courtship. The Captain and I were just getting to know each other better. We had breakfast together, and explored the palace, and just chatted about everything and nothing. You know; normal things like that. Want the sausage?" Loki sat forward and snatched it from my plate. I giggled. "Hungry, are we?" I asked, amused. Loki narrowed his eyes at me, devouring the sausage.

"You've seen the food they've been giving me," he defended angrily. "I used to have the finest food in Asgard provided for me! Now, I get scraps a hound wouldn't bother eating."
"Your fault," I shrugged unsympathetically. Loki glared at me. "Loki, you tried to destroy New York and take over the rest of the planet. As far as I'm concerned, you should be here. If you weren't so obviously damaged, I'd say you should be executed. But I can understand the strange effects emotional trauma can have on a person. It's the reason why I still like you, in spite of your actions."

Loki shook his head, growling. "You're lucky you're sharing your food with me. It's the only thing keeping me from throwing you out."
"Literally?" I asked, unconcerned. Loki smirked.
"Yes." I smiled, shaking my head at his constant threatening.
"You know, Loki; you keep menacing me, but you never act on it. I'm starting to think you really do like me, and you're just trying to cover it up." Loki rose from his seat, picked me up, and pitched me through the barrier.

I landed at the bottom of the stairs roughly and staggered to a stop. I winced, shaking my ankle as an ache spread through it from my awkward landing. I turned back to Loki with a resentful scowl. Loki stared down at me and turned away again, taking my spot in the chair and putting jam and cream on my scone. I smiled coolly at Loki, crossing my arms casually and flicking my gaze over him. "Alright, then. You don't like me. So I'll go where I'm actually wanted. Maybe your brother will show me around Asgard," I sighed easily. Loki glanced at me, frozen mid-chew, and I knew I'd hit a nerve by bringing Thor into this. I smirked, satisfied by the reaction. "Farewell, Princeling. Or Prisoner, perhaps, would suit you better now…" I faded off as I walked away, climbing the staircase. I knew I was being mean, but he literally tossed me out! I'm a very vengeful spirit; if Loki wants to play rough, I'll play rough. I'm not the type to back down.