This will go through a fair bit of plot and foreshadowing, not to mention introduce a couple of important characters. Enjoy!!

Ashley held on tightly as the speedboat type carrier sped past what seemed to be the civilized area of Asgard, leaving way to beautiful open waters and small islands as Loki steered towards the prison island of his son Fenris. Holding on tightly not because of the speed, she actually quite enjoyed that, but for the fact that she had never been that fond of deep waters seeing as she couldn't swim. She could float pretty well, but get her past a depth she liked and panic would steadily stream in and she would stop focusing on holding her breath, making her sink. Loki assured her he could swim fine and would get her out quickly if she fell, but still gave her a bit of rope tied to the boat to tie around her waist.

It was just the two of them, seeing as Fenris couldn't stand most other people due to their opinion of him and their part in trapping him there, other than Frigga of course who was staunch in her own opinion that he was done wrong, and would occasionally come to visit him herself on the sly, even if it was at times just a projection.

Well, scratch that, it was just the two of them, as well as a very naughty baby hellhound who had popped in for a visit somehow, but couldn't figure out how to pop back, not that she was inclined to. She had done so right in the middle of a conversation with Frigga and Loki, her body landing right in Ashley's lap, causing her to jump a foot in the air.

Gwen was unapologetic of course, merely wagging her little tail and giving Ashley the wettest of puppy kisses, before noticing the food in front of her and trying to make a leap into the platters. After calming down, brief introductions were made and a quick text was sent to Crowly letting him know where one of the pups had dissapeared to, Ashley passed the friendly pup off to Frigga, who fell in love immedietly and started feeding her chunks of meat. Loki looked on in amusement as Ashley explained what exactly Gwen was, having sensed the very slight power from her, and seemed very intrigued. Frigga had a tiny jeweled collar made for her the very next day, that way no one could question the small hound following around the royal family the next couple of days. Currently she was sitting in Loki's lap as he steered the boat, enjoying the wind blowing past her as any canine would do, even a supernatural one.

"If Fenris was seen as such a threat, why was he kept so close to Asgard? " Ashley asked as a larger island came into view, likely where they were going. "It seems like Odin would want him as far away as possible if he he was so convinced that he would do all those terrible things."

Loki glanced back for a second at her, frown on his pale face. "Two reasons. He needed to take him by surprise, so he had him try the chain when he was training on this very island, as he usually did when he needed to be away from the politics of Asgard, using Tyr as his patsy since he would ofton train with Fenris here. Then, once he was chained down, Odin realized it would be near impossible to move him as the chain would have to be unlocked to do so, or the massive stone it is attached to would have to somehow be unearthed and moved."

"It seems so cruel to keep him trapped there for a reason like that, haven't people ever heard of a self fufillig prophecy? Jeez, and you think you're better than humans, you seem just as fucked up as us about some things. Can he even eat? Drink? "

"Not unless someone places food in his mouth for him to swallow whole, what with the sword lodged through his jaw top and bottem. Luckily, with the golden apples he kept a steady diet of, he can go a very long time without needing anything. "

"Barbarians. " She muttered loudly, crossing his arms and sitting back in her seat with a scowl. Loki glanced back again with a grim smile, looking down at the basket Frigga had sent them with then back towards the oncoming island.

"I quite agree with you. It should be a refreshing change staying on Midgard for a time, being away from the politics of Asgard and the looks of it's people. Oh, and, you know, not being brainwashed and partially controlled while I am. First, however, we must make it through these next couple of days. The guests have already started arriving, curious about my Midgardian defender. Oh, and mother is looking forward to dressing you up for the celebration, since she never had a daughter to do so with. " He says this last part with a smirk, having been part of his mothers dress up schemes before( turning into a female wasn't always fun).

"Great, just what I love, people dressing me up and staring at me like I'm some sort of exhibit. It's not as bad when I'm on a hunt, at least I can focus on whatever I'm after, play a part if I need to, but half those times I'm also trying to blend in. Well, I mean my last big hunt it was mainly standing out, but I had alcohol and good partners to keep me... let's say focused. If I drink at this thing and someone insults me, I won't be able to keep my mouth shut and will very likely insult someone higher up on the food chain then me."

"I'll look forward to that. However, most there will know to be on their best behaviors with you knowing you are a guest of Lord Odin. As well, you won't be the only one drinking if you do, though I will warn you our alcohol is much more potent than yours, so be on your guard. If anything it will mean you can retire early. No worries however, Thor and myself will keep an eye on you. "

"Joy. So just so I know what I'm getting into, who all will be there? Other races I have no idea were real things I assume? Which is rich considering who all I'm friends with... "

"Well, the Vanir will be there of course, from which mother comes from, they always are good for a conversation as they are prolific magic users. Then comes the light elves, mainly frivilous creatures, though they have became a bit more serious since a contingent came back from a world they tried to populate with other races. After that are the Dwarves, masters of the craft when it comes to the creation of weapons, Armour and jewelry, highly secretive about their trade."

As he mentions the dwarves, there is a sharp pain in her head, and a dark haired man briefly flashes through her mind, as well as a couple other images before it stops. She holds her head in her hands, grateful for the reprieve, before looking back up as Loki keeps describing the guests. "Wait. did you just say faeries? As in little flying fluttering ones? "

"Faeries yes, though I wouldn't describe them as such, especially to their faces. They are one of the races with the most influence on Midgard, however. There is a Winter Court and Summer Court, but the royal family is made up of a blend due to them marrying into one another to secure a truce, due to a curse that made having children very hard for both. They, like the light elves, are very protective of their children, and if any are in attendance they will be very well guarded. "

Loki stops talking as they reach the island, Ashley rubbing her temples to try and get rid of the last of the sharp pain that had shot through her head. As he pulled up to the beach landing, Gwen jumped into her arms, excited to move off of the boat and to a place she could hopefully run free. As Loki gives her a hand off the boat, he notices her grimacing slightly. "Are you alright? You look to be in pain."

"Just a headache, I think I need some sugar in my system to get my blood pumping." He looks at her, tilting his head to the side, before pressing both hands to her temples, hands glowing green as the pain fades away to nearly nothing. She gives him a wide grin as he lowers his hands back down. "That's a lot better, thank you! That must definately come in handy around here. "

"It's a bit harder to do so to myself, but yes, it does. Shall we? " Offering her his arm he leads her down a worn path leading into a grove of trees, Gwen padding happily along beside them, tripping on her stubby legs every once in a while with puppy clutziness. After about a minute or so of walking through an almost overgrown forest, they come to a large clearing, a giant mass of dark fur curled up in the very center of it. Attached to said mass of fur is what looks to be a strange colored chain, of which in turn is attached to a dark slab of Marble set into the earth, wrapped around and linked through to prevent breaking or moving.

While Loki and Ashley had stopped once enterering the clearing, as not to startle the life within, Gwen in turn trips over a branch and faceplants into a pile of leaves with a sharp yip, causing the mass to rise up sharply and turn towards them with a snarl. Ashley, upon seeing Fenris for the first time, can't help the gasp from her lips and she might have taken a step back if not for Loki placing a hand at her back to prevent her from doing so. Obviously the first thing that she noticed was the dark matted fur, dirty and covered with leaves, though a close second was the fierce anger from his crystal blue eyes, eyes narrowed on the two of them as they stand there, not venturing any closer. Teeth were snarled at them as much as they could, hard to fully achive with the sword piercing his snout all the way through, though the growl was truely frightening. What made her upset, however, were the sores surrounding not only the area around where the sword was pierced though, but around the chain on his back leg as well, still raw and red as if it had just recently been done. At his full height, he was 6 feet on all fours, though at the moment he seemed all the taller due to the way his fur nearly spiked up.

Loki removes his hand from her back and raises both in the air, taking a step forward, slowly and with purpose. "Peace, Fenris, it's just me, along with a friend. We're not here to torment you, but we have brought food and drink. May we come forward? "

Fenris continues on for a few more seconds before slowly relaxing, eyes narrowed at the visitors as his fur stops spiking. "Father. I thought the bastard was trying to have you arrested? Or are you hiding here since he won't ever bother showing his fucking one eyed face here? "

"He had been trying to, but I was cleared of the charges. In fact, the young woman here is the reason I was released. Ashley, this is my son Fenris. Fenris, this is Ashley. " Ashley takes a deep breath before stepping forward at the same level as Loki, telling herself that it's just another wolf, and she's around wolves all the time, just in human form. Gwen, finally getting up from the pile of leaves she had face planted in, trots over to Ashley and Loki, tail wagging, before noticing Fenris jumping a bit, running around to peer at bim from behind their legs. As he doesn't make a move towards them, however, she gets curious and walks forward, sniffing up at the giant wolf cautiously, or at least as cautious as a puppy can actually be. Fenris watches for a moment, gently lowering his snout to the ground as much as he can without the sword interfering, and gives a sniff back, before blowing out through his nostrils much like a horse and bowling Gwen backwards.

Ashley gives a tiny smile as Gwen jumps back to her paws and circles around the woman excitedly before rushing back to the giant wolf, bouncing up and down like the excited youngster she was. Ashley takes the chance to take another cautious step forward lowering herself down to the ground with Gwen and letting the puppy rush back and forth over her lap, Loki standing next to her with the basket. "It's very nice to meet you, Fenris. Like Loki said, my name is Ashley, and the crazy pup running around is Gwen, short for Gwenhwyfar, who will be in a lot of trouble with her mother when she gets home. "

Fenris stares her down for a moment before huffing and sitting back down, keeping his eye on her. "Funny, you almost seem like you mean it. Are you not here to stare at the creature trapped by the bastard Lord Odin, the beast they feared grew too strong and would kill them all? I can smell the fear on you, little girl, and you can't hide it behind the little creature in your lap." His voice is raspy and gutterel, and she can't help but wonder how he can talk with the sword piercing both sides of his snout, or with a wolfs throut at all. She does, however, give a snort before she realizes it.

"Well duh, you're currently a giant wolf taller than me who could easily swallow my head and barely open your mouth. Anyone who thinks you can't be dangerous chained down is an idiot. But I'm also around werewolves almost all the time, with teen-age hormones at that, so I just kind of go with it. Are you hungry? Frigga sent with a basket full of goodies for you."

Fenris blinks at her abrupt change of topic, while Loki gives a tiny smirk at her handling of the situation, used to his sons mannerisms, mainly due to being trapped alone for so long. While not his fault, his son could be gruff even before his captivity, as well as very blunt, not at all caring how the politics of Asgard went. From what he had seen so far, Ashley could be the same way just in a different manner, so this was bound to be an interesting meeting no matter what. He sits back to watch as takes out a chicken leg and hands it to Gwen, who proceeds to take it happily and plop down in front of both Fenris and Ashley, gnawing happily.

Fenris stares balefully at Ashley hoping for a reaction, but she merely starts taking the rest of the food and drink out of the basket, placing it on a provided blanket on the groundground. Loki gracefully lowers himself down to the ground to grab one of the bottles thrown in by Frigga, uncorking it and giving it a sniff before smiling. "Mother sent a bottle of her golden apple mead for you, Fenris, your favorite, along with plenty of meat chunks and tiny cakes. She must not have been able to visit you lately."

He takes a handful of the meat and rises back up, walking towards his son with no fear though Fenris glares at him. "Open up, I know that you're hungry so don't act childish. " Fenris stares a him a couple of seconds more before opening his mouth up the few inches that he can, letting Loki drop the tender morsels into his mouth one at a time. Ashley glances up as he does, wincing as she notices the red and almost infected looking skin around the skin crack apart as he opens his mouth, not bleeding per say but definately wet. Glancing around at his leg she notices it is just as inflamed, and that Fenris moves it as little as possible, most likely to avoid the same issue as with his mouth, and bwhen he did, it was extremely gingerly. There was, however, proof that at one point he didn't move as carefully, as shown from the stains of dried blood around the perimeter he could actually reach.

"It's not nice to stare you know. " Fenris growls, and Ashley jerks her head up guiltily, as if she had been doing something wrong. "I'm an ugly sight, I know, but it doesn't give you the right. "

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare...does it not hurt? Where the sword goes through and the chain chafes your skin? It's just so red, and inflamed looking. "

"Girl, it constantly hurts. " Fenris says with a dark chuckle. "Every time I move, sleep or eat. I stay still and it hurts, burning from the constant contact. There is never a time when I'm not in pain. I just have an extremely high pain threshold at this point, so I ignore it." Ashley looks over at Loki as Fenris says this, her face aghast, and notices he has a mask on, but his eyes show anger for his child, and she can't blame him in the slightest.

"The mead mother sent usually has some numbing and healing properties in it, not much it can do for the long run, but it offers a modecum of relief." Hearing that, Ashley takes a bottle of the mead and walks over, unstopping the cork and sticking the tip gently into his mouth, slowly tilting the bottle so the golden mead runs down his throut. She eyes Fenris in case he takes offense to her being so close, but he merely closes his eyes and relishes the cold liqued, along with the relief it gives. Once the bottle is empty she moves it from his mouth and steps back, noticing the abrasions are just the slightest bit less red, if not much, but every little bit must be a blessing.

"Ahh, that hits the spot. Grandmother always did find little ways to go behind the bastards back and help, in her own way." Setting his head down on his paws, sword just barely touching the ground between them, he eyes the both of them once the food and drink is all gone. "So does he know that you're here? That father is introducing you to his spawn?"

"I didn't think it was any of his business honestly. Besides, I think he is getting ready for the ball or dance or feast or whatever you want to call it coming up. Didn't you say he never bothers coming up here? "

"To see what he has done to me? Of course not. According to the idiots who followed his orders, I was lucky to be left alive, as if they could kill me anyway. Out of sight, out of mind as the saying goes. I'm surprised you're still on Asgard honestly, he thinks very little of Midgardians, they're like animals to him, of lesser intelligence and importance. "

"Like you said, out of sight, of of mind." She says, scowling at the thought of being an animal to someone else. Not that being an animal was always a bad thing, but you could tell if the person meant it as a deragatory comment. "Loki, if he never comes here, what's to stop anyone from taking the sword out of his mouth? The chain is bad enough, the sword is just overkill, someones attempt to look like a Badass with someone who can't reach them to fight back, like a bully holding a kid upside down and giving them wedgies."

Loki frowns at that. "I'm not sure, actually. I would assume there is a rune of some kind on the blade, but I would have to ask mother to be sure. I would hate to pull the sword out and have it immedietly start bleeding profusely. "

"Don't worry about it girl. I would go the rest of my life with the sword through my mouth, if it meant I could take the chain off of myself." Ashley turns back to the massive wolf as he speaks, lowering herself back down to the ground and stroking the top of Gwens head softly. "Like I said, pain is nothing but a nuisance, something I deal with constantly, like the flies that come around and buzz over my head. the being stuck in one place, however, that's the real pain. Not able to run, to jump, to feed myself or even hunt... it can drive a person crazy."

"What would you do if you could go free?"

There is a gutteral hack in the back of Fenris's throut, almost as if he is trying to laugh, that sends a shiver through her body. "You mean before or after I ripped out that bastards other eye? "

Loki throws him a look, and she can see the parent coming in him coming out, as if this has been an arguement made several times before. "And doing that would just prove what Odin was afraid of correct, Fenris. It may be a self fulfilling prophecy in his case, but you don't need to go along with it, no matter how angry you are. Killing or maiming Odin will cause nothing but more problems. "

"Besides, it would be a real punch to the gut if you somehow were released and did nothing at all. It would show him to be completely wrong, and you to be the better person, which honestly I think would affect him more than anything else, if I have his personality down like I think I might." Fenris stares down at her at that statement, head cocked as he considers what she said, but her attention is on the small creature currently nesting in her lap, full of chicken and ready to nap as Ashley threads her fingers through the pups fur. When no one else talks for a bit, she looks up, blushing as she notices the other two still looking at her. "What? You know I'm right. It would drive Odin round the bend, and most likely he would be parinoid all the time, waiting for you to snap and actualy do something."

Still staring at her, Fenris take a second before finally responding, voice gentler than it had been before. " You might be right. However, since it will never happen, it's something that he doesn't ever have to worry about. Odin will never let me free, his fear, and the fear of everyone around, will never allow it. The only ones who ever argued for my freedom were father, grandmother Frigga and Tyr. Tyr was always a stickler for justice being served, and one of the only people not to be afraid to spar with me. He was the closest I had to a true friend. "

Ashley feels a tear trickling down her face at that. It wasn't fair! Just because Fenris was bigger and stronger than the others, and the son of a frost giant, didn't mean he was a bad guy!! Sure, he was gruff and blunt if what Loki said was true, which probably meant training with him if you were lazy was a horrible idea, but that just meant he didn't see the point of changing himself for others, just to make them happy. But to be chained and impaled because of it? It wasn't right. It wasn't just. It was the exact polar opposite of it, and she felt a burning need to help him.

Loki was lucky enough to look over at her just in time to see her eyes starting to glow blue, and put two and two together to see that the grace Gabriel warned him about was trying to bust through, most likely the aspect of justice she recieved from him. As the last thing he needed at the moment was her grace to try and free his son without knowing the consequences, especially so soon after being freed himself, he rushes over ang grabs either arm gently, forcing her to look at him. "Ashley, you must calm down, your grace is trying to react. As much as I would love my son to be freed, you don't know how it will affect you using the ability here, or the reactions if you do. Calm yourself, please." Putting a hand on her temple, it once more glows green, calming her just enough to break out of her emotional daze, eyes fading back to their regular blue, and not the glowing gold she did at the battle in New York. "Are you OK?"

She shakes her head, a little dizzy from the grace trying to bust out. "Yes, I think so. Thank you, Loki, that's the first time I've been stopped before anything could happen. I just kept thinking about how it wasn't right, and it snuck up on me. "

"You are welcome. We do probably need to leave, however, before it tries again. Son, I'm sorry to cut our time short, but I will visit again when I can."

"I will look forward to more food and drink." Fenris replies, looking at the dizzy girl strangely. "What was that exactly, that you need to rush her away so fast? "

"A nuisance. " Ashley replies, and Fenris snorts at her as she packs the basket up slowly, placing the sleeping pup in it and handing the basket off to Loki. "It can be helpful at times, but mainly a nuisance unless I want to sleep for days at a time against my will. It was nice to meet you, Fenris. maybe next time I can be more help."

"I can't see how, but the sentiment is appreciated. Good-bye Father"

Fenris watches them leave, before making himself as comfortable as possible in his situation and enjoying the lack of pain for a bit, eyes closed as he begins to imagine being able to run and hunt and drink to his hearts content.

†*( )*

When they get back, Loki takes her straight to the healing hall, calling his mother up as he has Ashley lay down on a cot, Gwen still asleep and curled up at her side. Explaining the situation once Frigga gets there, whispering part of it a-side where Ashley can't hear, Frigga gives a kindly smile and places a hand on the young womans forehead. "I'm going to put you to sleep for a couple of seconds while I do a scan of your body, is that okay? We just want to make sure that this grace isn't doing damage to your body, and it's easier to do if you are completely calm and relaxed. We can wake you immedietly afterward. "

"That's fine. " Ashley replies, headhead cradled in the soft white pillow. "I'm not sure what you will find though, Gabriel's brother is a healer and looked me over already. I do wish these headaches would stop though. "

Frigga gives her an understanding nod. "Well, we can just get another perspective, see if he missed anything. Definately make those headaches stop though." With that, Frigga focuses, and a golden light covers Ashley's head, lulling her into a coma like sleep. Once her breathing has slowed to a crawl, Frigga lifts her hands and goes over the entirity of her body, stopping for a minute when her hands glow slightly red over the young womans midsection, a deep frown crossing her face as she takes in the damage there. Not liking the look on his mothers face, he gingerly places his hand over her, flinching when he takes in the damage there and placing his own hand over her stomach, hand glowing green. after a couple of minutes the red lessens slightly, but not much. Enough, however, that Loki takes his hand back off of her stomach, though he leaves his other hand over his mothers as it goes over the rest of her body. There is a bit of confusion over her heart when there is a dark blue blip, but it is small enough that they go past it to continue on to her head.

As their hands move over her head, the glows changes to a swirl of red, blue and gold, and Friggas eyes narrow as she focuses in on the area, chanting softly as she examines her patient. For the next seven minutes or so, Frigga and Loki go through her mind, not intruding on memories if they can, but examining the blocks and what could be connected to them, seeing that her headaches were indeed conconnected to one of them for sure. Other than the headaches, however, and the red area around her midsection, there was no other physical damage as of yet. There was a small, yet worrying amount of mental damage, but as long as both blocks degraded naturally she would likely be OK. the only reason for the slight mental trauma so far was likely because of the barrier she had needed to erect at New York, the stretching of abilities she had never truely tapped into before.

She did, at one point, accidentally tap into one of the images Ashley had seen flash by during her headache and frown a bit, as one of the men in it had definately looked like a dwarf, several in fact, but considering she had never left Midgard that would have been impossible, as dwarves rarely left their home, except on special occasions, the upcoming celebration being one of them. perhaps it was merely one of the "films" Thor had told her about, with actors depicting a story.

When she was finally done looking over the girl, Loki healing what he could behind her, she finally removed her hands so the glow dissapeared, looking over at her son with a concerned gleam in her eyes. "Those blocks can't take too much more trauma or they will crumble. We healed a good portion of the cracks, but I fear if the one blocking whatever memories are there shatters, her mind might not handle it very well at all. The best thing would be for it to degrade naturally, that way she recovers them a small amount at a time. What really concerns me, however, is her midsection. all that red... " She pauses, looking at the sleeping girl tenderly.

"I healed as much as I could, but it resisted somehow." Loki said regretfully. "She has the ability to concieve, but it's highly unlikely any child will come to term. It's like certain parts are cut off, but by what power i cannot be sure."

"It looks the same as mine. It was never the same after giving birth to Thor, and I was told if I did carry full term, both our lives would be in danger."

Loki's eye twitches a bit as he holds his head in his hands. "This must be what the stupid Angel was hiding from me. He was probably hoping we could heal it without having to tell her."

"Well, we can tell her while she is here at some point. For now, we can tell her about at least the block on her grace abilities, so she knows it will dissolve as it needs to, and that we helped stop the headaches from bothering her as much. She will need to find someone to ground her still, however. You did a wonderful job at on Midgard grounding her, but you won't always be there. She will likely need multiple ones."

Which is exactly what they told her when she was woken up, a bit groggy from the spell but happy the headache was gone. She agreed with Loki that the first thing she would need to focus on when they made it back to Midgard would be finding some anchors for herself, as well as learning to practice with her new grace powers in order to not be as tired after using them. Knowing her, however, that wouldn't be her luck, having a good break of time to actually do so, with as many crisises that seem to pop up around her and her family.

"Now, why don't you go show her the library? I saved it for you show since it's your favorite place in the palace. Just try to be done around 5, I want my seamstress to fit her for a dress for the celebration, make her look like she belongs, that way no one can look down on her just because she's a Midgardian. Stop at least some of the arguments that might pop up."

Ashley groans loudly. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but can't I just give you my measurements? I've seen a tailor before, a pretty talented one, and don't look forward to it again. I don't do well staying still. "

Frigga laughs at that and even Loki wears an understanding grimace. "I understand dear, Thor was the same way, never still for a second. Unfortunately, however, my seamstress will be offended if you don't let her do her job. She does a wonderful job, but is offended very easily. Just better to get it over with, that way she never needs to again." Ashley nods and agrees, not looking forward to it but not willing to argue with the Queen. As they turn to leave, she suddenly remembers something. "Oh, and son? The elves arrived a bit early and are taking the rooms closest to Ashley's, so be on your best behavior. I know you don't have as much history with them as you do with the dwarves, but I do remember a series of pranks between you and the twin elf lordlings. " Loki grins widely but nods at his mother, before taking Ashley out of the healing halls and towards the lower levels of the palace.

As they pass by the guest quarters, however, there is a chorus of voices and steps walking towards them, and Ashley is yanked behind a pillar by a mischivious Loki who places a finger on his lips, smirking. As they peek around, Ashley smiling as well now, they spy several tall, modelesque figures, long hair flowing either freely down their back, or held back with elaborate braids and crowns, most in expensive looking robes, though a few were wearing leather outfits with bows on their backs.

"Do you know all of them? And why do they look like emotionless robot supermodels?" Ashley whispers to Loki as they peer from behind the pillar.

"I do. And they are naturally born with that better than everyone look, though some evolve past it." Ashley giggles, and he starts pointing out the elves they can see. "Now, the King and Queen haven't left their world in a very long time, since the dark elves waged war, so they send lords in their place, some are ok, some have permanent sticks hidden where you can't reach. The twins there are the ones mother mentioned, Elladan and Elrohir, the ones I may or may not have started a Prank war with, when Thor and I were much closer. The dark haired one with the circlet and the sombor expression is

Lord Elrond, their father. Then Lord Celeborn, along with Glorfindel and Ayelah. There are a couple of guards alongside them, and I believe another smaller group coming at the actual celebration time. However... " He pauses, looking around suspiciously. " There is one more who is usually here. He never misses a good celebration if wine is served, and usually is always around Glorfindel... where are you, you dramatic elf?"

"Do you mean me, Prince Loki? I didn't realize I stood out so much to you. "

Ashley yelps with a jump, while Loki merely rolls his eyes, turning around to face the elf Lord. "I knew you couldn't be far behind the others, that's why I commented. You and Glorfindel are never too far apart from one another. "

The elf chuckles, voice deep, and Ashley takes a moment to look him over. Extremely tall, with silvery blonde hair down his back, pulled away from his eyes with a circlet of thin silver. Thick dark eyebrows framed a face with penetrating gray eyes and a strong chin, mouth turned in a smirk that could match Loki. He was wearing silvery grey robes like the others, which she could tell held a built but slim body.

Stupid model elves.

"I was with him, but I saw someone hiding behind the pillar and decided to investigate. But let's not be rude, who is your lovely companion? " His eyes fall on hers, and she spies something within them for a second, something she doesn't recognize, before it is gone and replaced with the formal twinkle.

Loki glares at the elf, but straightens up to do his hosting duty, holding his arm out towards her. "Ashley, this is Lord Thranduil of Alfheim, one of the ambassadors for the celebration. My Lord Thranduil, this is Lady Ashley of Midgard, who came to my defense and was the main reason I was freed after being brainwashed. "

Thranduil stares at her for a moment before taking her hand, bowing and kissing it gently before releasing it. "A pleasure to meet such a brave woman. Tell me, have you ever met an elf before?"

"Not that I know of, though I have seen several things that don't make sense back at home. " She stammers, nervous at the attention from the attractive elf Lord. "Why do you ask? "

"No reason. Perhaps while we are here we can get to know one another better, you could even meet my son when arrives the day of the celebration. For now, however, I must take my leave of you and attend the rest of my group. Good day." With a graceful flourish of his robes he leaves the two behind, speechless, as he rejoins the rest of his group to be shown to his room.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I have no idea, but he never does anything without a reason. That's the part that really worries me. " Ashley just nods as he leads he back the way they were going, towards the library, not seeing the elf Lord watch them as they walk out of sight.