Hey guys. Glad you all liked the last chapter. Thanks again to all those who've favourited my story. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Got a little surprise for all of you at the end.

Chapter Three: Surprises

The streets were busy that day, busier than they had been for nearly a year. Two woman walked down the muddy street, looking at the different items for sale on a many number of stalls. One of the woman, who was darker skinned than her companion, looked around with a bored expression on her face, her raven-black hair tied back.

"What's the point in coming here?" The black haired woman asked the other, who had dark red hair and aqua eyes. Giving a soft, understanding smile, the red-head replied quietly, "You sound just like my husband. Unfortunately, we do have to come here to restock supplies. Anyway, I thought that you wanted to see how your friends are doing."

A quiet murmur coming from further down the street interrupted their conversation. The black haired woman's eyes widened as an excited voice called through the crowd, "It's Thor! Thor has returned."

Not saying another word, the two began moving through the crowd towards the excited voices, the black haired woman quicken her pace as she spotted the figure of a large man. Breaking through the crowd, the black haired woman stepped over to the man and called his attention, "Your Majesty."

Thor's face split into a wide smile as he turned around to face her, giving a joyous cry before pulling her into a tight hug. Returning the embrace quickly, the woman backed away and allowed herself to be introduced to Thor's companions. Banner she already knew and shook his hand in welcome, before turning back to Thor who spoke loudly, "I'm glad to see you, and so many of my people alive."

He looked around at the familiar Asgardian faces that surrounded them. Nodding slowly, the valkyrie told the large man, "We've been on the move ever since Thanos attacked our ship. But there are still some others out there."

She waited as Thor nodded slowly, before adding, "It might be a good idea to talk somewhere else."

"We have ships." Thor answered quickly, turning to the direction he and his companions had come from. He stopped as the valkyrie held up a hand, saying, "I think it would be better to talk where I've been staying."

Thor frowned, turning back to face her while asking, "Why? We can leave and take you back to Earth."

"We came to this village following a rumour of a stranger that lives here." The valkyrie replied, glancing around at her fellow Asgardians before adding, "We thought that it might have been one of our people, or…"

She trailed off as Thor gave a soft nod and murmured, "Thanos. We heard the same rumours."

They turned to Banner who placed a thoughtful hand on his chin while asking, "Do you know where this stranger is?"

"I have an idea." The valkyrie replied with a smile, glancing over her shoulder at the red haired woman who was watching them curiously, "My local knowledge. We should speak with her."

Thor nodded agreement and turned to Nebula and Rocket, telling them, "Take my people back to one of the ships. We'll met up with you again as soon as we can. Keep in contact."

Rocket gave a quiet mutter, turning to face the Asgardians while saying loudly, "Alright. Follow me. His royal highness will see you again when he's got all the information he needs."

Stark stepped over to Nebula and murmured quietly, "Watch over them."

He waited until she gave a short nod and followed the group of people that began walking towards the place where they had landed the two ships. The remaining three turned back to the valkyrie who led them over to the red head, introducing them, "Your Majesty, this is my local knowledge."

Thor quickly shook the woman's out stretched hand, who then turned to Stark as he stepped forward and said, "I'm Tony."

"I'm married." The woman replied, making Stark's eyes widen while his two comrades gave soft chuckles. Smiling warmly, the woman turned to Banner who introduced himself, "I'm Bruce."

"Sonja." She replied, shaking his hand. She then turned to face Thor, who asked, "Is there somewhere we could talk?"

Giving a quick nod, Sonja answered warmly, "We can go to my house and speak there. But, only if you're willing to do some work."

Frowning, Stark exchanged glances with Banner, opening his mouth to ask what sort of work, but stopped as Thor nodded and told her in the same tone, "We would be glad to do anything you requested of us."

Nodding slowly, Sonja smiled and began leading the way back down the street, the valkyrie falling into step beside her. They travelled for many minutes, not speaking again until they were standing outside the front door of a house that lay in the middle of large fields. Banner turned to the valkyrie, saying, "So, Val… you said that you had an idea as to where this stranger was?"

"Yes, I believe him to be on a trading trip with other men." Val replied, following Sonja through the door into the house. The three men also entered the house, stepping into a long hallway with different rooms branching from it.

Sonja led the way into the kitchen, pulling off her coat while telling the group, "Yes, my husband is away with other men from the village. They should return later today or tomorrow."

Thor paused for a moment, staring at Sonja with a shocked expression on his face, making everyone frown at him while Stark asked quietly, "What is it?"

He pointed at Sonja's slightly protruding belly, making the woman give a quiet laugh and place her hands on her belly, replying, "Yes, my husband's and I's first child. Nothing to worry about."

"It just surprised me. That's all." Thor replied, clearing his throat while turning his gaze elsewhere. Sonja smiled and moved to the stove, where a pot stood with steam sneaking out from under the lid.

Val watched Thor for a few moments, before turning to Banner as he sat down at the provided table and asked, "Uh, what sort of trading is your husband involved in?"

Sonja shrugged slightly, answering while stirring the stew in the pot with a spoon, "Furs from past hunting trips. Produce from our crops. Leather…"

"Leather?" Val interrupted, making the others frown at as she continued, "I though you said leather is highly prized and rare to trade."

They all turned back to Sonja as she bit her lip, replying quietly, "Yes, well… Rune isn't originally from this village."

Again the three men frowned, Stark raising a hand while asking, "I'm sorry… who's 'Rune'?"

"My husband." Sonja answered. Stark gave a small nod while Banner raised his eyebrows and inquired, "If your husband isn't from the village, where is he from?"

Sonja took a shaky breath, glancing down at the ground while answering quietly, "I… don't know. Neither does he. I found Rune in my family's field nearly a year ago. I cared for him, brought him back to health. But he has no memory of his life before I found him. Not even his real name."

Val took a step forward, her face blank with shock while muttering slowly, "So… this stranger we've heard of in these rumours… is your husband?"

They all waited in silence, while Sonja took another shaky breath before answering in a trembling voice, "Yes. He is. I had hoped that after all this time, he would be accepted by my people and that we would live in peace."

She sighed heavily and turned back to the stove. Thor glanced at his companions, before looking back at the distressed woman and telling her, "If he is one of my people, we may be able to help him get his memory back. But until he returns, we will do anything you ask of us."

He gave her a warm smile as she turned to him in surprise. She then returned the smile, replying in a grateful voice, "Thank you. But I must warn you… farm work is difficult."

The next morning was cool, a light frost spreading across the plants that spread across the fields. Sonja woke a short time after the sun had risen, wrapping her shoulders in a shawl that had once belonged to her mother. Stepping into the kitchen, Sonja paused for a moment as she spotted a rose lying on the table.

Her breath catching in her throat, Sonja didn't need to open the note to know who had left the flower, for it wasn't any type of rose. It was one of the rarest plants on her planet, the flower's petals nearly completely clear and a strong, sweet scent filling the room. Quickly, she collected the rose and placed it in a glass vase filled with water.

A soft smile curling on her lips, she turned to look out the window and rubbed her belly in circular patterns as she spotted a man in the fields with a dog following closely. For the next hour, Sonja moved around the kitchen, collecting the required items that she needed to make porridge.

Soft groans called her attention, making Sonja turn around to see Thor, Stark and Banner stepping into the room, stretching their arms and backs as they walked. Thor sat down while groaning, "I haven't felt this sore since I was starting my training as a warrior."

"I don't remember the last time I slept without any nightmares like that." Stark replied, taking the seat beside him with Banner also sitting down, nodding agreement. Sonja couldn't help the small smile that curled around her lips, saying, "I told you farming's hard work. Don't worry. You won't need to do anymore work. Rune's returned."

She glanced over her shoulder at them as they glanced around, Thor frowning slightly as he asked, "Where?"

Chuckling quietly, Sonja looked out the window again, answering, "He's out in the fields. He's been there since dawn. You'd think he'd rest after returning from a tiring trip…"

The rest of her sentence was cut off as she shook her head, turning back to the stove and the pot she had been cooking in. A few minutes later, Val stepped into the kitchen stumbling slightly as she walked to sit down next to Thor.

"Late night?" Stark asked with raised eyebrows. Val gave an annoyed groan, answering while stifling a yawn, "I was up half the night trying to get to sleep. Then this morning I thought I heard a sound."

Sonja placed a bowl of porridge in front of her, biting her lips slightly while saying, "That was most likely Rune or Oddy you heard returning from their trip."

Banner frowned at her, repeating, "'Oddy'? Who's that?"

"Our dog." Sonja smiled again, placing bowls in front of the others, who muttered their thanks. She gave a quiet sigh and turned back to the window, muttering to herself, "I'll have to go and tell Rune that breakfast is ready. Excuse me."

She opened the back door and stepped out into the cool wind, pulling her shawl more closely around her. As Sonja neared the tall, black haired man, the dog beside him barked and ran over to her. She smiled and patted the grey, shaggy coat before turning back to the man and told him, "Breakfast is ready."

He sighed and kissed her cheek, his black beard brushing across her face before he straightened his back, replying, "Thanks dear, I'll be there in just a minute."

"Rune. You've been away in another town for the last week, returned home early this morning and you've been out here since dawn." Sonja tilted her head to the side as she watched her husband, before placing her hands on his arm, telling him quietly, "Come inside. Please, Rune."

Exhaling deeply, Rune threw down the trowel he had been using and placed an arm around Sonja's shoulders and began walking back in the direction of the house with her. She shook her head and looked up at him, saying, "I don't know how you can stand being out here every day. It's freezing."

Giving a soft chuckle, Rune rubbed her arm while replying, "The cold doesn't bother me so much. Who were those people sleeping in the sitting room this morning?"

"Help." Sonja answered, making her husband pause and look down at her, saying, "I don't need help, Sonja."

Sonja sighed and shook her head, pulling him on while replying quietly, "I know you don't need help, Rune. But you forbade me from exerting myself while you were away, remember?"

Rune gave a small nod and wrapped his arms around her more tightly while she added, "Anyway, they'll be leaving soon. You don't need to worry about them getting in your way."

They exchanged soft chuckles, walking to the back of the house where Sonja stepped inside while Rune stopped in front of the old water trough that stood next to the wall, rolling up his sleeves so that he could wash his hands. Splashing the cool water onto his face, Rune grabbed the cloth on the edge of the trough and stepped inside, drying his face and beard.

"You are a fantastic cook, Lady Sonja." Thor spoke loudly, spooning a large mouthful of porridge into his mouth. Stark gave a quiet chortle, before slapping his friend's arm and pointing over at Rune, saying to him jokingly, "Watch it, Thor. She's taken and the hubby's around."

He and the others turned to face Rune as he stepped over to his wife, who handed him a bowl and spoon. Muttering his thanks, Rune leaned against the kitchen counter and placed the spoon in his mouth, watching the group from under the curls of hair that fell down his forehead.

Val opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as the grey dog that had followed Sonja inside, jumped up and placed it's muddy paws on her legs. Giving shouts of shock, Val jumped up and waited as Rune placed his bowl aside and grabbed the dog's collar.

"Bad dog, Odin!" Rune cried, opening the door and pushing the dog outside. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the group again, pulling his hair back while telling them, "I'm sorry for that. Odin's normally well behaved."

He frowned as their jaws dropped open as they continued to stare him with wide eyes. Each of them shook their heads slowly, unable to believe what was before their eyes. It wasn't possible. There was no possible way… It just couldn't be…

"Loki?!"