Now is the after-party backstory chapter. Let's get some more on Ari and Loki, shall we? I mean, nearly dying would sober anyone up, right?

Differences mentioned in this chapter: All of it.

Loki grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Ariana. He grabbed another and began to dry her hair for her as she shakily dried herself and peeled off her wet dress. She kept the towel tight around her as she grabbed some warm pajamas to sleep in.

"Talk to me," Loki said, brushing her hair to remove any tangles. "Do not bottle it up." She shook her head, tears falling. "It's just me here. Remember, if only with me, you are free to let it out."

"Dad sugarcoated it," she said, her voice but a wisp of air. "It was way worse. I didn't know how to swim. I had fallen asleep. I didn't know where I was when I woke up. I cried out for him, afraid. I saw sharks under me, that's how I fell out of my inner tube. I sank slowly, not knowing how to move or what to do. If I had sat still, hadn't panicked, I would have been found sooner. The seaweed was so tall, it caught the inner tube. I tried to use it as a rope, but my ankle was caught. Maybe it was kelp. I don't know. I saw open ocean in front of me, and a forest behind me. I couldn't take a breath like my body wanted, but I couldn't hold it either. I tried so hard. For some reason, I remembered what a girl from the orphanage would say to me. It made me just… give up."

"What did she say?"

"Everything I had was fake, that no one wanted someone like me. That if I just died, everything would be better. It didn't help that she had tried to drown me on a trip to the local pool. Her name was Erika Smithson. She was awful to everyone, liking when someone was hurt and making fun of them for it. She was worse to me as I was her favorite victim. All I had to do was walk into the same room and I was targeted. But her words only come to me when I'm underwater. She told them to me while she tried to kill me."

"Then why did you go to the beach?"

"Dad was excited about it. I didn't want to disappoint him. I hadn't been his daughter for very long. I thought that I could get over it if I went out on the water. It was fine until I fell asleep. I had been thinking I could take swimming lessons and learn to overcome my fear, but it only got worse. I vowed never to let anyone like Erika get in my head again, never make me fear something that much ever again." She smiled at him over her shoulder. "It did, but I managed to overcome it. Just not swimming." She hugged herself. "The feeling of water filling my lungs… screaming in the water but no sound reaching anyone… being alone… that barely describes the feelings I had as the world turned black around me. Waking up… I was so scared, I couldn't look at the water. Even a bathtub scared me for years after. I felt… weak because of it."

"I know that was hard to talk about. No one wants to admit something like that." He began braiding her hair. "I think it's only fair I give you something equally hard to talk about in return."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. As a teen, I developed a crush on a young noble girl. She had a penchant for trouble and I enjoyed her company very much. We were betrothed after a month. I made my feelings known, and her father accepted. My parents were not so thrilled. A few years passed, and I noticed things I found I didn't like."

"Like what?"

"It sounds silly, but her pranks aren't like yours. Sure, the target doesn't have fun at the time, but they laugh about it later. But the girl, Sigyn, often went too far. Many times, a maid or cook was injured and had to be let off work to heal. She would look upset for everyone, but when we were alone again, she would giggle and laugh about it."

"She sounds a lot like Erika."

"They would get along very well, I imagine. You must understand, I often pranked Thor, he was a favorite of mine. Harmless little things. She joined the fun, but I saw what the prank was and warned Thor. She disliked me very much after that, and often repeated the belittling things my father would tell me." He looked down when Ariana turned to him. "Yet, I still wanted to be with her. She encouraged my mischief. But then, we started plotting to take the throne. She wanted to be queen and I wanted a kingdom to prove my family wrong. But I also wanted to rule alone. I told my parents I wanted the betrothal broken, and they happily agreed. I taunted her after, saying I would stick to the plan without her, that she would never sit upon the throne so long as I ruled."

"She hurt you as much as anyone else."

"She vowed vengeance on me, Ariana. If ever I should love another, to promise the throne to them as my queen, she would take them from me. I have not seen her since. She is a skilled sorceress, but I would feel her, I would hope. Still, I think it is safe to say she is not coming back anytime soon."

It took Ariana a moment to let the fear drain from her mind for her to comprehend what he was telling her. "You're afraid Sigyn will come after me? What brought this sudden…"

"You were taken by HYDRA on the way home from a simple mission and taken by them as a child. It was said that as a child, Sigyn found the answer to look into the future by a witch she had been kind to, though I would think she threatened the witch rather than try to be nice. Still, if that were true, she would try to take you from me before we met. If this did happen, she could have made an innocent and frightened child perform horrible things to be rid of you."

"Loki…"

"I knew you were safe on Asgard. Thor or mother was always with you if I was not. Here, I do not have that same faith. Hearing your story only made my anxiety grow. Before Snow White, I only wanted my beloved back. Now, I wish to keep you chained to my side."

"You were afraid to be my healer on Asgard too."

"More surprised to appointed that position, but yes. Thor's actions, though accidental, made me realize today what you are to me and what losing you would mean."

"And what is that?"

"You, Ariana Elena Stark-Tonysdottir, are more than my soulmate. You are my queen, my goddess, my very soul. Without you, I am lost with no hope of being found. Being without you after New York was the hardest thing I have ever done, but when you were taken, it was hell and I do not wish to repeat it. I am forever sorry for what you suffered from my absence and supposed death. The only thing that kept me going, that made me wake up each day, was hope that you still lived and that I would find you. I understood what a dim connection can make one think. The thought that I would forever be without you in my life…" He looked down. "Never again will we have to face that possibility because I will not allow it."

Ariana lifted his head so he could look at her. "Loki, I never want to be without you ever again." She gave a soft smile. "I also never want to go near that pool."

He smiled back at her. "I promise."

He kissed her, his fear of losing her dissipating. He helped her lay down, covering her. He watched her fall asleep in his arms, safe and content. Yet, something about this Erika bothered him.

The next morning, he went to Tony and asked, "Did she ever tell you about a girl named Erika from the orphanage she was in?"

"She said she was a bully," Tony answered. "Why?"

"She's the real reason Ariana is afraid of water. That child tried to…" Loki looked away. "I want to see what information we can dig up on her. Even if it's a simple picture, I don't care. I want to look into something."

"Okay, but all the records of that orphanage were mainly on paper and I think it burned down a while back. I'll start looking into it and have SHIELD bring them over. If it was HYDRA's version of a daycare, we may have to go around saving others like Ari." He ran his hands through his hair. "Just another thing the Winter Soldier helped with."

"What are you pinning on me now, Stark?" Bucky asked, having overheard as he was walking past.

"The HYDRA orphanage," Tony said. "Where you sent my daughter."

Loki sighed and said, "Stark, Ariana claims him as family, therefore, I will treat him as such. I also heard about what he suffered from her. I understand you are hurt by what happened, but what one does while controlled is not their fault."

"Well, I haven't entirely forgiven you for Germany, so…"

"I believe this is what sent Ariana to Asgard in the first place. I know what speaking from a place of pain and anger can do. Do not lose her because you refuse to see past what was beyond our control. Because if you hold us accountable for those actions, you must also hold her to what she did was Snow White."

"Everyone is ganging up on me, so I'll try. After last night…"

"It is because of last night I want to look into the orphanage." Loki turned to Bucky. "Do you remember a child by the name of Erika Smithson?"

"No, but that doesn't mean much," Bucky replied. "I know of a small outpost that might have information on it, though. Get that, and the orphanage will be in the dark about HYDRA. It is their one link."

"I don't want Ariana to know. I have a feeling that demons from her past will come at us soon, and I'd rather deal with them now rather than later."

"Like hell you're leaving me out of this," Ariana said, making the three men turn to the door. "There are children being broken down in that place. I'm one of them. I know the way they think. You'll need me."

"Ariana…"

"They are suffering. I got out because one nurse took pity on me. None of the others were so lucky. Besides, none of you would recognize Erika's picture. They could have changed her name if they moved the children."

"Alright, kiddo," said Tony. "But if we sense anything amiss, we back out."

"Who knows how many kids they have? We can't risk them, but they are not going to trust kindness from us or in the foster care system. SHIELD will have to monitor them, some may never get a family. But we have to get them out."

It was agreed. The four of them would rescue the unknown children from HYDRA while searching Ariana's past.