Ella sat in her chamber later that evening, Loki perched on the edge of the stool that she often used for her dressing table. Ella had changed into her flowing nightgown while Loki remained in his usual attire, refusing to leave the chamber and venture back to his own rooms. He knew that if he went then he had the chance of being cornered by his mother or father; not that they were his parents, however.

"I still feel ill."

Ella's voice was small and lost and Loki looked over to her, seeing how she had curled herself into a ball, her legs crushed against her chest as she did her best not to throw a fit of rage or cry. She didn't know what more she could do as she felt Loki move to sit besides her, the bed dipping underneath his weight as he lifted his legs to rest on the bed, his back on the headboard.

"How could they do this to us?" Ella whispered again. "We were children…and they…they would have decided our lives for us then and there."

"But they did not," Loki reminded her. "I am not trying to defend them, Ella. I do not trust them at this moment in time."

"Nor do I," Ella said, looking over to him. "But I was not even born, Loki. I was not even born and my father was already marrying me off. What if they had succeeded?"

"Would being married to me be that horrific?" Loki asked of her and she rolled her eyes, a feeling of illness taking hold of her once more as she arched a brow and gave Loki a look of annoyance.

"You are my brother," she reminded him. "I do not want to think of anything like that."

"And we do not have to," Loki promised her, taking hold of her by the cheek, trying to soothe her. "You are my younger sister and I love you dearly, Ella. I always have done. You know how I feel…how you are the only one who understands me…knows me…"

"And you, I," she assured him. "And I know that I need to marry one day…I have always known that…and I am not angry about it, but I am angry over the thought of them trying to marry me when I was not born. The thought of me being nothing but a Princess to use…I am their daughter and you are their son…do we not deserve more than that?"

"Of course we do," Loki promised her. "We have been lied to, Ella, we deserve the truth from now on."

"I suspect so," she told him. "But what if mother had not stopped father? How can he not understand what he has done was wrong? He never apologises for anything. He is always thinking he is right."

"He has always been that way," Loki told her and Ella stood up, the white nightgown she wore falling to her feet and trailing behind her as she walked up and down the room, her pacing driving Loki to madness.

"We are his children," Ella continued, "but you are right. He had never treated us as equals. You…you were always second best to Thor. I see it now. You were always told that you would not be King and it makes sense. And I was his daughter…nothing but someone he could use to further alliances."

Loki stood up too and moved towards Ella as she got caught in the end of her skirts, unable to move due to the length of it. She stomped on the floor, her feet kicking the ground as she moved to pull the skirts from underneath her and push them behind her body.

"Thor," Ella sneered, "he always had everything easier…everything…he never had to learn lessons…he never did anything wrong."

"Ella," Loki urged his sister to calm herself but she couldn't. She was too busy getting herself worked up into a state, tears falling down her face as her cheeks tinged red and Loki moved over towards her, holding her closely to him as she felt her body shake.

"Why?" she demanded to know, wrapping herself against her brother as Loki moved a hand down her hair, soothing it down in his fingertips. "Why did he not love us as much as Thor? What did we do wrong?"

"We did nothing wrong," Loki promised her. "We did noting to deserve this. You deserve more, Ella. You…I might not ever be the rightful King of Asgard, but you…my dear sister…you are wiser than Thor. You are more calculated…much more intelligent and diplomatic. Why could you not become Queen?"

Ella pulled back from Loki then, moving from his grip as she dropped her hands to her hips and perched on the stool that Loki had just vacated. She shook her head back and forth while Loki shrugged his shoulders and moved back to her, kneeling on the ground and taking hold of her hands inside of his.

"You might be younger, but what does it matter? The point I am trying to make is that you are just as strong as Thor, perhaps not physically, but mentally-"

"-And that is the issue," she interrupted him. "I am not the eldest, nor am I male either. You shouldn't say things like this."

"What? The truth?" Loki asked of her. "For that is what this is, Ella. This is the truth. I would rather bow down to you than to that oaf we call our brother."

Ella was about to continue speaking against Loki, but she had no chance. Instead she heard a knock on the door and she went silent, wondering who it could be. Moving to her feet, Ella walked to the door and pressed her hands against it.

"Who is it?" she wondered.

"Me, my love," her mother answered. "I know that you are angry…both you and Loki have a right to be angry with us, but please, your father has fallen into the Odinsleep."

Ella pulled the door wide open then and Loki appeared over her shoulder, his hand moving to hold her there as Frigga stood before them. She noted the motion from her son and wondered what they had been discussing in the chamber. She suspected it would be something to do with the earlier revelation.

"When did this happen?"

"Minutes ago," Frigga spoke. "The events of the day have drained him alongside Thor's banishment. I need you both to come and see him…please…it is what he would have wanted from both of you. You know how he loves you."

"He lied to us," Ella answered, but she was already moving back into her room, slipping her shoes onto her feet and reaching for her long blue robe. Clearly she was going to go to him. "You both lied to us for years."

"I begged him to tell you the truth," Frigga said, her eyes set on Loki as he watched her, wondering if he could believe her or not. He wanted to. He had to. His mother had always been there for him. She had always seen him as he desired to be seen. "I told him to tell you of your parentage, Loki…but I never wanted him to discuss the prospect of marriage between both of you. You were young…our children…"

"But he did," Ella responded, tugging her hair from underneath her robe and pulling it over one shoulder.

"Please, Ella," Frigga pleaded from her daughter. "Please, forgive him. He loves you dearly."

"Does he?" Ella wondered. "Because I am struggling to believe it right now."

Brushing by her mother, Ella walked down the corridor, hardly caring about the fact that she was dressed in her nightclothes. Loki watched her go whilst he stood by Frigga's side, feeling the woman move her hand to his arm, holding it gently as they began to walk down the corridor.

"You need to believe me, Loki," Frigga urged her son.

"I do," Loki declared without taking time to think. "I just want to know why he never told me."

"Because you are his son," Frigga said. "I wanted him to tell you who you were, but I wanted you to know that it would change nothing. You would always be our son and nothing would ever change that."

"Then why did you not do that?" Loki enquired as they turned a corner.

"Because he was scared it would not work. He was scared that everything would change if you knew," Frigga answered him. "Please, Loki, you know you are our son and we would do nothing to harm you."

"But you would marry me to my sister?"

"She was not your sister," Frigga responded. "Ella had not been born and by the time she was you and Thor had become brothers and that was when your father decided to keep your parentage from you."

"She is your daughter," Loki whispered as he saw Ella enter Odin's chamber, but he stopped outside with his mother. "How could you think of marrying her off to me? A monster?"

Frigga gave him a sad smile, moving to stroke his cheek as she kept searching his gaze. "You are no monster," Frigga promised her son. "You never have been a monster, Loki…and if you were not so close as siblings…then I could think of no one I would rather see her with. You would have been a good husband to her, Loki."

"But she is my sister," Loki replied, looking through the doors to where Ella now sat, hunched over her father.

"She is," Frigga agreed, "and you are her brother. Nothing has changed, Loki…nothing at all."

…

Loki could not stay by the Allfather's side for too long. He didn't want to. He wanted to escape, still finding himself unworthy of being in the man's presence after everything that had happened. Loki had taken his seat beside Ella, his hand on her back as she kept one of her hands on his arm, looking at her father as a mixture of emotions controlled her.

It was as Loki stood when the doors opened and the guard entered, holding on tightly to the spectre her father usually held. Loki looked as they moved closer to him and Frigga stood up too, watching as her son remained confused.

"Odin is sleeping," Frigga spoke. "You're the acting King of Asgard, Loki."

"Until Thor returns," Loki declared, looking to his mother.

"Perhaps," she spoke, "but for now the duty goes to you."

Ella could see the look of fear in Loki's eyes. His lips were parted as he looked to the sceptre beneath him that the guard held. Ella moved towards him and he peered to her as she gave him a soft nod, urging for him to take hold of it. But he didn't. He knew what he had said earlier and he intended to stand by his words.

"If I am to rule as King, then it is unfair," Loki spoke, peering back to his mother as Ella shook her head.

"No," she urged him, sensing where this conversation was going.

"The line of succession states the title must go to you," Frigga spoke.

"But I am not-"

"-You are," Ella interrupted him before he could say the secret out loud and the guards heard him. "Loki, you are the rightful King. Please….just take it…"

"So long as you stay by my side," Loki whispered and Ella nodded at him.

"Of course," she promised him.

She knew he was scared. She could see it in his face. He would never admit it, however. He was much too proud. As he picked up the sceptre, he held it tightly in his fingertips and Ella smiled softly as he turned around to look to her and Frigga watched him, wonder taking over her.

"You will both do your father proud," she whispered over to them. "I know you will."

…

A/N: Let me know what you think!