Standing by the Rainbow Bridge, Ella sighed as she watched her brother walk towards her. She folded her arms over her chest and her bottom lip protruded slightly over the top lip. Thor tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear and smiled at the sight of her, a jovial look on his face. She was dressed in a flowing blue dress, her hair neatly combed and hanging in soft waves down her back. She looked at him with a sad look in her eye as he finally stood before her, hands moving to hold onto her shoulders.

"Dear sister," he spoke her name in a low and gentle tone, "do not be worried. I will return safe and sound."

"You know I do not like it when you have to go off to battle," she reported, still pouting slightly. She doubted she would ever get used to her brother leaving and then returning. She preferred it when she knew where he was and that he was safe, but this was his chose path. He was a fighter. "I worry about you."

"And now imagine the worry I felt when I saw you try to help us in battle," he said to her, hand moving to cup hold of her cheek and hold it tenderly in his grip. "As my little sister, it is my duty to protect you. It will always be my duty and that means I have to ensure the realms are in order…to ensure that Asgard stays safe under your care."

"You know I do not know what I am doing," Ella responded to that, "ruling Asgard…I do not know how to do it."

Thor shrugged at hearing her say that. "I am not entirely convinced on that point, dear sister," he said to her. "From what I have seen, you appear to be doing a very good job. Father is most certainly proud of you."

Ella scoffed and nodded, hand going to take Thor's from her cheek and hold onto it tightly. She contemplated speaking her mind for a brief moment, but she realised that she had to. She had always been able to tell her brother what she was thinking. Well, she told him certain things. It had always been Loki she had openly talked to before.

"Do you think that there is something amiss with father?" she wondered and Thor's brows knitted together at hearing her and she shrugged, wondering if she was just being sceptical. "I do not know," she said in a low drawl, "it just seems as though he is very different to normal. He has not yelled at me in a long time."

Thor chuckled at that, the noise loud and booming. "And you are concerned about that?"

"No, it is nicer than being yelled at," she responded, "but it is almost as though he is overly nice."

Thor took a moment to think about that, but he came to the same conclusion he had each time he thought about it. "Losing mother and then having both of his children leave him, I suspect, changed him. Perhaps he has mellowed? He is old, Ella. He simply wants his family by his side and I cannot blame him for that one little bit. I…I understand his position."

Ella nodded. Thor's words seemed to make sense to her on that front. She moved to embrace him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Thor smiled and wrapped his own arms around her, stroking her hair down lightly and smiling as he kissed the top of her head.

"Promise you will come back to me in one piece," she demanded from him.

"I promise," he said and pulled back, looking down to her.

She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, her hand holding his other one. She heard the Warriors Three and Lady Sif call for Thor to join him, the four of them sat on their horses and Thor's next to them. Ella let go of him and nodded. "Be safe," she demanded.

"Always," he replied with a sly wink in her direction. He took off, jumping onto his horse with ease and giving her one final wave before leaving.

Ella stood at the end of the Bridge and watched him ride off. Folding her arms around herself, she felt a sudden chill come over her. She shook it off and waited until Thor had disappeared from view before she climbed onto her own horse and returned to the palace, preparing for another day of royal duties ahead of her.

…

"I see you have tidied out the library."

Ella was stood by one of the shelves. She tugged two books from their spots and placed them into the box on the floor that she was stacking them in. She was in the process of sending books to the local schools, ensuring that each school had the same amount of resources. No school would be underfunded if she could help it. She had received a brilliant education courtesy of her mother and, truth be told, she had not taken advantage of it. She had been spoiled and had complained about everything she had learned. She wished that she could go back and change that.

Loki stood on the other side of one of the shelves, leaning back against it with his arms folded over his chest. Watching his sister, he smiled at her and he couldn't help the feeling of his chest tightening as he watched her beam back at him. It was the same look she used to throw in his direction when they had been children. He adored it. He adored the admiration that she showed for him. He doubted that he would ever tire of it.

"I have not tidied out the library," she responded, accepting that she was once again dreaming. She, somehow, was able to conjure up Loki whenever she dreamt and now, instead of dreading going to sleep, she looked forward to it. She loved that she could go to sleep and see him there. "I am sorting out books to send to the local schools…although this is a dream and I have already done this. I spent hours in the library today, Loki. I loved doing that."

"You enjoyed sorting through musty old books?" he questioned her and she moved over to hit him on the arm. He chuckled at the feeling of her weak punch and she then folded her arms over her chest.

"It was nice to help," was all that she said to him on the matter. "It made me feel useful and…I know that there will be children who will appreciate what we had the chance to read. They will perhaps appreciate them more than I did."

"I suspect that would not be difficult," he responded and dared to take hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly. "Now come along, this is your dream and I suspect you can dream better than the library."

"Perhaps I enjoy the library."

"Come now," Loki urged from her. "You used to moan all the time to mother about how you hated being forced to study. I still remember finding you after a number of sessions and having to entertain you."

Ella smirked at that and walked with her brother through the rows of books and back towards the main entrance. "Then where do you want to go?" she questioned from him. He smirked and shrugged his shoulders. He did not know. She was the one who was in control of the dream, or so she thought.

"How about we return to your favourite place? The gardens?"

"Oh yes," Ella said. "You can see what I have done there."

"In the gardens?" Loki questioned. He actually had no idea that his sister had been working in the gardens. As far as he knew she had been spending time on her school project. That was all that she had told him, well, Odin.

They walked towards the gardens and she led Loki towards the back of the green, luscious lawn. They moved through the roses and through the archway to the walled garden. But it did not look how he remembered. Instead of small flowers, it had changed. A paved walkway led to its centre with a small water fountain in the middle. The flowers were now all overgrown and brightly coloured. It resembled a wild garden, with a bench sat by the water feature.

"What have you done?" Loki questioned from his sister who dragged him to the middle of it, spinning around with her arms stretched to the sides of her.

"I spruced it up," she responded. "I added more colour and had the gardeners pick some of mother's favourite flowers to go in here. I…well…look…"

She directed Loki to the water featured and he looked at the detailing around it, his eyes widening as he saw it. Bending down so he could get a better view, Ella remained stood, her hands behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her heels, biting down on her bottom lip. "What do you think?" she wondered of him.

Loki's eyes narrowed and he saw how the stone around its base had engravings of images in it. They were the images in Odin's throne room of the family. He could see himself in it, alongside Frigga.

"I wanted to create a space where we could come and remember mother…and you," Ella said to her brother and he inhaled a sharp breath at her words. "I know it is only small in here, but I just wanted it to be somewhere private…some place where we can remember the good times…how it once was…"

Loki stood up straight again and watched his sister walk around the fountain, her finger trailing in the water and rippling it upwards. He nodded his head and confessed himself slightly emotional. She was too sweet. She was too kind. He had always known that about Ella, but being the one to receive her kindness still made him feel a tad uneasy. It was almost as though he did not deserve it. Well, in truth, he knew he did not. If his sister knew that he was still alive then no doubt she would be anything but kind to him and he could not blame her. He almost felt guilt. He wanted to tell her the truth. He should tell her.

"Ella-"

"-I knew it was a silly idea," she interrupted, sensing his tone had one of unease instead of reassurance that she had wanted. "Father will think it is ridiculous."

"Not at all," Loki promised, moving to take hold of her hands and offer her the reassurance she needed. He squeezed them tightly and bent down, moving one of their entwined hands upwards so that he could use a finger to lift her chin up and have her eyes meet his. "Ella, this is one of the kindest things I have seen someone do. Father will love it."

"Do you think so?" Ella wondered.

"I know so."

She remained silent then and perched down on the bench, Loki sitting next to her. She let go of his hands and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

"He has been different," Ella suddenly admitted to Loki. "Father has been completely different. It is almost as though he has forgotten everything that has happened…he is being very sweet…too sweet, perhaps."

Loki shrugged. "Perhaps he is trying to make amends for his previous behaviour?"

Ella nodded. "I can understand that," she said, "but some of his mannerisms seem out of place…it is very strange."

Was Ella slowly finding out? Would she find out? Loki suspected if he kept on acting as he was doing then she most certainly would. He did not know how much longer he could keep up the pretence. Ella was clever. Ella was too clever not to realise what he was doing. That meant he was left with one of two choices. He either told her about what had happened or he changed. Looking down to her and seeing the adoration she had for him, he did not know if he could break her heart, but he also knew that he could not keep lying to her.

Sighing, he kissed the top of her head and realised that he would take his time to understand what the best option was. He had no need to rush.

…

A/N: Do let me know what you think!