Asylum

by Lalaith Quetzalli

-AU to Nightingale.- War is coming, it's inevitable, and the only hope for gaining the upper hand lays in gaining the help of those they turned their backs on so long ago, those who were forced to flee to another world, to save their lives and their love. Homes, once gone, may never be recovered, but not all may be lost just yet… (Warning for femslash) Tolkienish dwarves and elves

To LilySJS, who was the only one who got close to guessing what this one was about, even if it was only in one part.

This story can be read as a Stand Alone, though having a basic idea of who Nightingale is, at least in the main storyline can help.

The song in this story is "The Swan Song" from Within Temptation.

Dreamcast (a tad long this time): Emily Browning as Nightingale, Georgie Henley as Rose Alfdis, Ben Barnes (characterized as Prince Caspian) as Caél, William Moseley (characterized as King Peter) as Filip, Imogen Poots (characterized as Arianne in Centurion) as Siri, Evangeline Lily (characterized as Tauriel) as Elanor, Emilia Clarke (dressed as Daenerys but brunette) as Merenwen, Skandar Keynes as Rhîwiôn, Emma Watson (Belle) as Tawariell, Hugo Weaving (Elrond) as Erynion, Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) as Thenidiel, Kristin Scott Thomas as Kathryn Adler-Salani, Katie McGrath as Helena.

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Asylum

(Alternative Universe to Nightingale)

By: Lalaith Quetzalli

War is coming, it's inevitable, and the only hope for gaining the upper hand lays in gaining the help of those they turned their backs on so long ago, those who were forced to flee to another world, to save their lives and their love. Homes, once gone, may never be recovered, but not all may be lost just yet…

Even in the most terrible times new friends can be found, new families made.

xXx 3rd Person POV xXx

It was insane, beyond insane even. At least half a dozen SHIELD Agents running around, almost like headless chickens, their superiors barking orders, looking no better. At the front of the room, surrounded by chaos yet somehow managing to keep themselves completely focused on their tasks, were Doctors Jane Foster and Erik Selvig, keeping an eye on incoming information, making all-new calculations as necessary before passing on orders to their assistants.

It took several minutes (seemingly so long they felt like years to some). But eventually the loud alarms and red lights going on all around were turned off. The attack had ended, they'd won. Selvig stumbled to the closest chair, where he dropped unceremoniously, while Jane pretty much pressed her back against the nearest wall before allowing herself to slide down.

"We cannot keep this up for much longer." Selvig muttered, running a hand through his sweaty hair, panting.

They may not have been in the middle of the battle, but what they'd been doing was just as stressful, if not more so. Knowing that, were they to fail, their loved ones would be the first to fall. That every second of delay brought a bigger chance for the same loved ones to be injured if not outright killed. It was a hard burden to bear.

The doors to the command center opened as the leaders of the groups that had been fighting stalking in, some of them looking a little worse for wear. At the front was Captain Steve Rogers, the famed Captain America; at his right, his second in command: Tony Stark, aka Iron Man; at his left the leaders of the X-Men team that had assisted the battle that day: Rogue and Wolverine (neither of them had given their civilian names to anyone in SHIELD); a little bit behind the leaders of the Secret Warriors (an Inhuman team): Agents Grant and Skye Ward (she was also known as Quake and Daisy Johnson, the Queen of the Inhumans) and the leaders of the Sentinels (the SHIELD team that worked with the Warriors): Agents Phil and Darcy Coulson.

"Thor…?" Jane asked, tensing, immediately noticing her betrothed's absence.

"Point Break's fine, Janey." Tony hurried to reassure her. "He's helping jump-start the plant to make sure the electricity will return to the city sooner rather than later."

Jane smiled, mostly to herself. She was the one who taught Thor to care about such things.

The next hour passed in a somewhat formal, very boring debrief, as every team-leader explained what they'd done, what they'd done right, and where they'd gone wrong, as well as a few ideas for future battles.

"We cannot keep this up for much longer." Steve admitted grimly at the end.

"That's what Erik was saying as well." Jane nodded with an exhale. "With each battle it takes us longer to close the portals, more chitauri get through, and more leviathans… Today we had to rework two of the codes before the devices worked."

"What happens when the devices are no longer enough?" Grant inquired, though he probably already suspected the answer.

"Then the battle doesn't end until we defeat them all, and considering that we've been going to battle at least once a month for the last year… I don't know you, but something tells me the number of enemies might be a hell of a lot more than we can handle." Tony stated grimly.

Yeah, Grant, and most of them really, had suspected as much.

"What about the sorcerers?" Wolverine asked in his usual gruff tone.

"I talked to Strange." Skye admitted. "It's no good. Apparently the sorcerers deal mostly with dimensions. The chitauri… they may be coming from the other end of the galaxy, but it's still the same dimension. So there's not much they can do. In the end, it's not their kind of magic."

"And whose is it?!" Fury demanded.

He'd remained silent through the whole debrief, growing more and more upset as the minutes passed. He was the leader of SHIELD, an organization that had fallen once already, that many believed would never rise again. Yet it had, he made sure of that, with the help of his wife: Kathryn Adler, the Sphinx, his Co-Director. He refused to believe there was nothing they could do to win them the war against those aliens once and for all.

"You cannot tell me there's no one in the universe with the kind of power to end this war once and for all!" He snapped.

"There is someone…"

All eyes turned towards Thor, standing at the entrance to the Command Center, he was the one who'd said those words.

"Who?" Hill, who'd actually arrived just behind him, having gone to check with those in charge of the injured, and of helping with the damages caused by the battle.

"If there's this person why isn't she or he here already?" Rogue wanted to know.

"And why is this the first we're even hearing about them?" Tony demanded at the same time.

"One thing you need to understand." Thor stated, as he crossed the room to stand close to his intended. "He is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Nine Realms, probably at the top by now, really. He's not in Asgard, though he lived there for a long time. He currently resides in Nidavellir, with his match. And they're there because they requested asylum several years ago; they requested the protection of the dwarves… from the Allfather."

"What…?!" It was clear no one expected that.

Or almost no one. There was one person though, who knew who exactly Thor was talking about. Jane reacted instinctively, raising her hand to take the one Thor had placed on her shoulder, communicating his support as much as she could without interrupting his speech.

"Who is this man?" It was Steve who broke the silence, voice soft as he already suspected the answer was going to be hard.

He was right, of course. Thor took a deep breath before finally giving his answer:

"My adopted brother: Loki…"

xXx Nightingale's POV xXx

When people talk about their lives being so complicated… they hardly ever understand that to each, their own life will be the most complicated of all. Mine… it wasn't exactly more or less complicated than anyone else's, though I certainly had to deal with a few things few people ever did. The ultimate interracial couple? Check. Death, reincarnation and eternal love? Check. Royalty, birthrights, and legacies all around? Check-Check. Some 'outsider' wanting to mess with our love-lives like we're some freaking star-crossed lovers? Triple-Check! And that was without considering the fact of who the two of us were: exactly. The fact that my match was Loki, born Laufeyson, adopted Odinson, God of Mischief, Lies (and Magic), second Prince of Asgard, the Liesmith, Silvertongue, Skytreader, Shadow-walker, most-powerful-sorcerer-in-the-9-Realms, made things just crazy enough… and then there was me:

I was born Silbhé Arianna Kinross-Salani, daughter of Sebastian (an architect) and Aislinn (a concert pianist) Kinross Salani. A simple girl, with a simple life. With a mother who died of cancer when I was not quite three-years-old. Then my aunt came into the picture: Kathryn Salani, she'd been working for the government for fifteen years and left that job to help my father raise me when she heard my mom had died. Together the three of us moved from our home in Wales to a place in Westbrook, Maine, US. It was also a family property, though no one had lived in it for a couple of generations, at least. At age four I was diagnosed with cancer myself: leukemia. Went into treatment, which lasted for five years, before I went officially into remission. Through the whole thing I would fall sick so badly and so often that at some point Aunt Kathryn decided it would be better for me to be home-schooled. She handled everything herself. It ended being a good thing, probably, as I finished as far as high-school level when I was but fourteen.

I was eleven when we met, in the middle of the rose-patch in my back-garden. He stepped out of the shadow-paths without looking to make sure there was no one, or maybe he just couldn't see me, or whatever other reason there could have been for him to step out of the shadows and into the real-world, with an eleven-year-old girl sitting right there, among the roses. He faked it, of course, or at least tried to. Made himself look like a thirteen-year-old boy; but I needed only to see into his eyes to know there was no way he was a boy, his eyes were much too old. He gave me the name of Nightingale, for my love of such birds, and gifted me with a beautiful black-jade dizi so I could sing with them.

We became friends, odd as it may seem to anyone not the two of us. He was, for all intents and purposes, an alien prince, I was nothing more than a human girl; we had nothing in common. Except it was so easy to talk to each other. He loved Earth/Midgard, the chaos of it, and loved hearing about everything that may have happened since his last visit, or the things he might have missed; while I loved hearing him talk not just about his world: Asgard, but all the places he'd seen in his travels. I so wanted to see all those places.

I always knew our friendship wouldn't be easy; more than that, that it could be dangerous. I'd done my research, it was how I eventually knew exactly who he was. I knew a good deal of what was 'known' about Norse Gods wasn't real; of some stories I found versions so different I took them all with more than a pinch of salt. Nevermind the fact that most people didn't think Norse gods were real in the first place! One thing a lot of the sources seemed to agree on, was that mortals weren't supposed to know them, and the likeliest 'punishment' for anyone found in possession of too much information, was to have those very memories taken.

I found it insulting, granted, it was supposed to all be a myth so perhaps I was taking things too personally due to my own situation… but really, did they not think about how the individual in question might react to their memories being taken? How could they be sure they'd just take those exact memories and nothing else? Also, if the memories were old, those experiences were likely to have shaped others, even ones that had nothing to do with the Aesir in question, where did they draw the line? I knew there was really no point in worrying about such things, it would either happen, or not, and there was very little I could do one way or the other. It was still something that stayed on my mind.

I was fourteen when the cancer came back. Worse than before, I was given three months to live. I wasn't interested in the harsher treatments, they would have given me a year at most, and it wouldn't have been a good year, so I chose not to have them. Aunt Kathryn respected my choice (by that point she was more my parent than my father, who was always working, hardly ever around), even if she kept returning home with teas, herbal remedies and any alternative she could find that might help. I didn't think any of them would make much of a difference in the end, but I still loved her for trying. Also, it wasn't like I was just going to lay down and give up, so I tried all the things she found. Some at least helped with the pain. I came to love meditation, which was one of the things, not meant as a cure, but to help deal with the symptoms.

And then Loki intervened, because he downright refused to accept that there was nothing that could be done to help me. When he could find no solution, he went and created one! A set of bracelets we'd read about in a novel I'd been reading lately, called the deamarkonian. In the book they were meant to help 'kill the strong through the weak'. They connected two individuals, and so, if you killed the weak, the strong would die too. Loki inferred that the only way such a things would be possible was if their life-forces were linked. And then he turned it around, focused on the idea of the strong making the weak stronger (or at least less weak). He created the bracelets then, and we put them on. He bound himself to me, so his life-force might strengthen me and allow me to live with the cancer. It was no cure, not really, the cancer was still there and always would be, but the deamarkonian allowed me to live when I could (should) have died.

I moved on, building a life for myself. I went to college (to an actual school), to Norwich University, where I studied History, Mythology and Literature. Managed to finish the undergrad in all three in just two years, graduating at sixteen. But I didn't stop there, I kept going, wanting to earn my Master Degrees as well. I was seventeen-years old when everything changed yet again, in ways both expected and unexpected:

"Loki!" I was in my room, and while his visits weren't exactly rare anymore, I hadn't been expecting him that particular night. "You're here early..."

My voice broke off and my smile vanished as I noticed the too-solemn expression on my best friend's face. I knew instantly that something was wrong.

"The Allfather has found out about you..." Loki revealed in a rush. "I have no idea how this happened. I've been so careful! You were occluded, and I made sure to always use the Shadow Paths when coming to Earth... your house is completely shielded! I have no idea what I did wrong, how we could have been discovered, it shouldn't have happened!"

"I take it he doesn't agree with our friendship..." I tried to smile, but my eyes were sad. "When are they coming for me? Will they hurt Aunt Kathryn...?"

"No, they will not hurt Kathryn, she knows nothing except for my fake human name, she's never even seen me, so she's in no danger." Loki reassured me. "And about coming for you... they're coming tomorrow, but they don't want you, per say..."

"I don't understand..." I truly didn't.

"The law states that we are not to interfere in the lives of mortals." Loki said in a blank tone. "So every sign of interference will be taken away..."

I got it then, and really, a part of me had known it all along. It was something that had always been on the back of my mind, even if mostly I refused to ponder too long on it.

"They're coming for my memories..." I let out a breath.

Something else occurred to me, as I felt the weight of the cuff-bracelet around my right wrist.

"Will they take this too?" I asked him quietly.

"They don't know it exists, and they cannot see it unless we allow it." He reminded me. "And even if they knew I wouldn't allow it. I would die first..."

"That doesn't seem right." I refused to even consider that. "My life is not worth yours Loki."

"It is, worth that and so much more... if there were any way I could stop this from happening... but I don't know how, I don't even know how we were found!"

"Maybe we aren't supposed to, maybe it's simply something that was meant to happen sooner or later." I sighed. "Most secrets cannot be kept as such forever..."

"Not forever, just long enough for me to find a way to keep you safe." He shook his head derisively. "I suppose it's useless to talk about such things now."

He made a violent motion in the air, he was furious at himself, for not being able to do more; he didn't understand that he'd already done so much, done enough, more than enough even. For him nothing would ever be enough, I knew that much. Then again, were I in his place my reaction wouldn't be any different.

"It's alright, my friend..." I whispered quietly, taking his hand in mine.

"No, it's not." He insisted, though he let me hold him, I could only hope it helped. "If I knew we stood a chance I would take you right now, we would run away. I would take you anywhere on this realm, or even another, to keep you safe..."

"We cannot spend the rest of our lives running..." I murmured, raising a hand to caress his cheek. "It's not right. Besides, a life constantly hiding and running is hardly any life at all. And you deserve much better than that."

"So do you, you deserve everything I could ever give you, and far better than what the Allfather has decreed for you." He practically snarled the last part.

"We must believe things happen for a reason, both the good and the bad." I insisted.

He didn't seem to agree, but chose not to contradict me; probably realizing there was no point, ranting and raving wouldn't change our situation any...

"You know, I always knew it might come to this." I blurted out before I could think better of it.

"What...?!" He wasn't expecting that.

"What you said about Odin declaring there was to be no interference, I read it somewhere, long before I began to truly study mythology." I explained calmly. "I knew us being friends, if we were to ever be discovered, would have its consequences. And I didn't care. I decided that being your friend was well worth any and all risks and possible dangers there might be."

"I'm not worth..."

"Sh..." I placed a finger on his lips, stopping his self-recrimination. "You are worth anything and everything I have and could ever have. No matter what happens tomorrow, or at any point during the rest of my life, I will never regret the last six years..."

"No you won't... you won't even remember most of it! Certainly nothing that has to do with me." He practically hissed.

"I won't lie to you, I do wish there was a way..." I admitted quietly. "Some way we could, I don't know, make them think they had taken all the memories, and later I could retrieve them somehow... someway I could hide at least some of those memories from them... but I am not a telepath, I cannot do that kind of thing..."

Abruptly, Loki's expression changed dramatically, all the tension left his body and it was as if some new energy suffused him.

"There is a way..." He practically gasped.

"What...?" I had no idea what he meant.

"You might not be a telepath, but I am a Sorcerer, one of the best in all the realms..." He reminded her brightly. "I can protect your memories…"

That was the plan, though it didn't quite work like that in the end. The spell should have put a lock on my memories, on everything that was connected to him, except the most minor, least important of them, which would be left for the Allfather's mage to find (because finding nothing would be even more suspicious than finding anything at all); instead, it broke a lock neither of us had known was there:

"Fintalëharyon (Trick prince)..." Was the first word to slip from my lips as my eyes opened.

"A'maelamin (My beloved)..." Loki replied automatically.

Both were automatic, words pronounced in a language that at least I shouldn't have known, as I'd never learned it… at least not in my current life. But things weren't that simple anymore, for right there inside my head, alongside the memories of my life as Silbhé Salani, as Nightingale, floated the memories of Lalaith Mirloth, of Tinúviel; Princess of Alfheim and Asgard (once almost queen of the former), match and consort of Loki Odinson, mother of Helena Miriel, Goddess of Compassion…

"I love you..." I whispered, switching to English, as it was still more familiar to me than most other languages. "So… so much…"

"Till the last star falls from the sky." My Maverick replied dutifully.

The instinct took us both in the same way, at the same time, it seemed almost like fate:

"I promise you that from this day on, you will be my only one. I shall look at no other the way I look at you, I shall think of no other the way I think about you, I shall talk to no other the way I talk to you, I shall desire no other the way I desire you, and I shall with no other the way I lay with you. I shall be with no other for you are now and forever shall be my one and only; my friend, my lover, my partner, my match..."

And so we were bound by the Ancient Vows… again.

It turned out we'd been unconscious following the original memory spell longer than expected. We consummated our union that very night, and shortly after we wake up, our uninvited guests were upon us!

I stepped out of my bathroom to find Loki still on the bed, the sheets barely covering him at all. And while the part of me that was still a seventeen-year-old girl, who'd been a virgin, hadn't even been kissed until the night before, felt like I should be blushing; I didn't, because I was more than just that seventeen-year-old girl, not less, but more. It wasn't a matter of being shameless, but that I knew there need not be any shame, not between us. Our love would never be a cause for shame, not in any way.

So instead I untied my robe before dropping it at my feet. I'd dried my hair before even stepping out of the bathroom. And I stood there, completely naked, as I bent down to pick up the clothes I'd chosen earlier, dressing slowly under the penetrating eyes of my love. I turned to look at him over my shoulder, smirking mischievously. I was almost expecting him to teleport straight out of bed and onto me, decide that there was no need for the clothes… and then the moment was abruptly broken.

I felt the shift in the air, and was sure I wasn't the only one who did. A fraction of a second later my Maverick jumped out of bed, conjuring his clothes, boots and full armor before his feet even touched my carpeted floor.

I didn't get the chance, or even truly the need, to ask any questions. As just a handful of seconds later they broke into my room. I knew there were a lot of Hidden Roads that connected Midgard and Asgard, and had no doubt one of those must have been used, as there had been no sign of the Bifrost. Which was a good thing, I couldn't even imagine the kind of attention that would have called, and it was the last thing we needed.

"Brother!" A blonde in dark leathers, steel armor and a red cape, holding a hammer in his hand, rushed into the room first. "This was not the bargain made!"

"No." Loki hissed, stalking towards him. "Your so-called bargain is to rape my match's mind, to take what isn't yours to demand and destroy her like she's nothing when she's everything to me! That's not the kind of bargain I will ever make!"

"Brother…" The blonde prince looked beyond speechless after that.

I knew I needed to do something. If it came to a battle… I had no doubt we'd win, but the cost of it… it would be nothing good, and not just for the damages, the loses… The last thing I wanted was to be the reason my love had to fight his brother. Thor might not be the person I remembered from my previous life; he'd changed too much since forgetting all about me, but he was still a good person deep down. He still loved his brother, my Loki, even if he didn't always show it. Just like I knew Loki loved Thor, and I wouldn't get in the way of that.

It came to me then: our ace in the whole, the one way we might be able to get out of such a complex situation without anyone having to fight. So I turned eyes up, as if seeing through the ceiling and to the sky, focused all my power on my voice and called:

"I am Silbhé Nightingale, daughter of Sebastian, of the House of Salani. I am Lalaith Tinúviel, daughter of Lamirima, of the House of Mirloth. Twice consort and match of Loki Skytreader, son of Odin, of Asgard. On this day and on this hour, I call upon the House of Erebor, for the bonds of friendship that once bound us, I request Asylum!"

It was a bold move. Certainly not something that most would do. But I wasn't just anyone. I wished I could have done the request in khuzdul, it would have carried more power then; but the ancient laws forbid outsiders from hearing, much less speaking the language without the blessing of the King. I carried such a blessing, had since being Tinúviel, and by his bond to me so did my match; but that wasn't the case of all the others surrounding us.

I knew my words would be heard. Even had I not had access to any magic at all (and I did, I could feel my love sending his own magic to me to aid in my plan), the words themselves carried a magic all their own. If my cause was just, and especially if I could give them a reason to hear me, they would. The name of Tinúviel would do that, certainly.

The Aesir froze for what seemed like forever and no time at all; the Lady Sif was the first to move, hand on her blade before she even reached me.

"Stop Sif!" Thor called loudly.

"But Thor…" She began, clearly not understanding.

"A request has been made, and it will be respected." The blonde ordered.

"There's no way Nidavellir will answer." She scoffed. "Dwarves are an isolationist race, they…"

I never got to hear what exactly she thought about dwarves, for just a minute later a horn could be heard: the dwarves had arrived…

Arrangements were made very quickly. I wrote a letter, sealed it and left it for my Aunt Kathryn to find. On the one hand, because we couldn't really wait for her to return from her double shift; and also, because I didn't want to risk the Aesir doing something against her simply for being my aunt. If we left fast enough they'd hopefully never know she existed.

Upon our arrival to Nidavellir we were met by a group of guards, who in turn lead us to King Filip, a handsome male, blonde hair to his shoulder-blades in a number of braids, with deep blue eyes and the stocky build of most dwarves; and his wife, Queen Siri, who while no taller than her counterpart, was certainly much slimmer, with light-green eyes and brown hair in braids, some that started small before gathering together into a bigger one that was pinned around her head like a crown. They were both wearing traditional dwarven clothing, and as I expected, had no signs of their royal-statuses except for the rings they wore (which only a few of us would even know marked them as royalty at all).

I pronounced the traditional dwarven greeting, in English, having decided that though I knew khuzdul, I hadn't yet been granted leave to speak it in my current life. The King responded as expected, and after a minute or so of pleasantries and being invited to seat, we got to the real point of the conversation.

"You invoked some powerful magic on this day, my lady." He pointed out evenly.

"I did." I nodded solemnly. "I hope his Majesty will forgive me, for calling on bonds a lifetime gone. But my options were limited and time was running short."

"If you were calling on bonds from a lifetime prior, why not call on Alfheim?" The Queen asked.

The fact that she even spoke in our presence told me that we at least had a measure of favor from them; dwarven females never made themselves known to people they don't trusted. Most, in fact, might even pass themselves as males in the presence of any not of their family, or close friends. The Queen of course was a public enough figure everyone knew she was a she… but still, her showing how much she was her husband's equal… it wasn't done in the presence of those they believed might use it, use her, against the King, or their Realm.

"Because Alfheim would expect me to be someone I'm not, someone I wasn't long before I died, a lifetime ago. And because, painful as it might be to admit, I know I cannot trust them. Oh, I can trust the people, yes, but not the Elders. They'd want to manipulate me, and they will never have my match's back." They'd proven that when, after my death, they chose to abandon him, rather than fight the Allfather's decision to erase Loki's memory; when they treated him like a pariah simply because he didn't die with me. "That's a deal-breaker for me."

"Yes, your love and devotion to your One, is something we dwarrows have always respected and admired, my lady." King Filip nodded. "The House of Erebor owes you a debt we might never be able to fully pay…"

"I didn't call on you because of that…" I didn't even think about how I was interrupting him, I just couldn't let him think that.

"I know you didn't." He assured me. "If you were the kind of person to do that, my lady, the debt would have never come to be in the first place!"

He was probably right. As for the origins of that debt… back when I was still princess of Alfheim (the would-be Queen) I had come in contact with King Thorne, who had become famous when he refused to take a consort, claiming that he had a One (their word for a match), even if said One couldn't be found, and he wouldn't betray that person. Nidavellir was going through a crisis then, as they didn't have enough food to feed their people, and the Realms they did commerce with would sometimes charge too much if it was in their own benefit. I hated that, it wasn't that I did not want the best deal for Alfheim, but I found it despicable that someone would use a Realm's needs in such a way. So I was as kind as I could, gave as much leeway as possible, when our time came to bargain. King Thorne was an honorable man, and even with Nidavellir's great need he would have never taken advantage of me (not like some Elders claimed he would, that he'd see me as too young and try to take advantage).

Years later we made some new, better deals, and it was then I made my offer. A blessing to a patch of land, to improve their crops. I knew it could be done, knew it had been done in the past (back when our Realms had gotten along much better). I'd found pieces of old journals detailing how it could be done. Some weren't viable, the best I found was something that would require constant presence of one with power and an affinity for nature, and I couldn't guarantee that. But I could do a blessing, something that would last them for years.

I gained the dwarrow's favor then. Which included the opportunity to learn their languages (which I immediately took) and to speak it. I was the first outsider in millennia to be given such an honor. King Thorne also insisted that I be owed a debt, to be paid whenever, either by him or one of his kin (elves lived longer than dwarves). I was aware that, had they been dealing with someone they found less worthy, they'd have insisted a payment be made, rather than an open debt owed. Then again, King Filip was right, the kind of person who'd have dealt with 'payment' would have never offered such a blessing indeed.

"It will be an honor to have you as our guests, my lady, both of you." Queen Siri assured us.

"Please, call me Nightingale." I insisted with a smile.

And thus we found ourselves a new home.

We had good lives in Nidavellir. Made a number of friends. Especially Prince Cáel; he was a bit taller than his older brother, his hair black and less well-kept, though he still put his braids in dutifully, eyes the same shade of blue. He was young for a dwarrow still, and didn't get along too well with others of his generation, as apparently he was no good with the traditional weapons: like axes, hammers and the like; instead favoring short knives. Loki liked him, taught him a few tricks, and told a few stories of the times he'd bested one or more Aesir (who too favored big weapons). I also taught him archery, when he showed an interest in it, and he turned out to be particularly gifted.

Filip never said a thing, but I could see in his face, in his smile, that he was glad his brother had found his place, was happy. And then the elves came.

First it was Erynion, though he didn't actually visit, just sent a letter. He knew about me, thanks to Thenidiel's sight (she was his match), he understood why I hadn't asked Alfheim for asylum and promised to keep my existence a secret as long as possible. He also assured both Loki and I that if we were to ever need help, the two of them would be glad to give it.

Then, in the summer of 2010, we got two very unexpected visitors. Two she-elves stepped out of the one Hidden Path that connected Alfheim and Nidavellir, covered in cloaks. They requested asylum, and to see Loki and I. It soon became clear that Erynion had told them about me, I didn't understand why, until they revealed themselves, and the reason for their fleeing Alfheim under the cover of the night: Princess Merenwen of Jewel Forest, part of the Sisterhood, and the reason the trip had been necessary in the first place: she was pregnant, with a half-Jotun baby; and the pregnancy was killing her.

As it happened, Jotun could only have children with females from other races when said female was their match. Hence why I had no problem with Helena. But Merenwen wasn't Helblindi's match, even if they were compatible. Her family not only hadn't been understanding of the situation, they downright refused to allow it, to the point that they'd been willing to kill the babe, and Merenwen with it if necessary. It had been Elanor's idea to flee. Originally the plan was to go to Jotunheim, to Prince Helblindi and seek his help, until Erynion told her about us; not just that I was Tinúviel reincarnated, but that my match was a Jotun as well. And thus the new plan was made and implemented.

Queen Siri was very understanding, and more. To dwarves, children were precious, worth more than any treasure, rare as they were; mostly because of how rare female dwarves were. She didn't hesitate before granting asylum to the two she-elves, as well as access to their healers. Precisely because of how rare both females and children were, dwarves had perfected healing where it came to the caring of both mother and baby. They did their very best, going as far as insisting on performing their version of a C-section several weeks before the pregnancy would have come to its natural end, in an attempt to ensure the health of both the baby and the mother. It worked. And so, right as the 30th of November became the 1st of December, Rhîwiôn, son of Merenwen, was born. Merenwen's womb was ruined, never again would she be able to bear a child, but her life was saved, which was blessing enough to both her and her new wife: Elanor. At their insistence, Loki and I became the child's godparents.

Then, on Ostara, our own baby: Rose Alfdis, daughter of Loki, was born.

Time passed; months, then years. Caél seemed to ever be spending more and more time with us. He totally loved the kids, didn't even mind that Rhîwiôn would give him frostbite, whenever he got fuzzy (my love made charms for the two mothers to protect them from that). We named him Rose's godfather, though we hadn't chosen a godmother.

It didn't seem the Convergence would affect us much, as the portals and other irregularities appeared on the surface of the planet, while dwarves lived deep underground, had for a very long time. The surface was too inhospitable for any living creatures, had been since the beginning of the Realm's history. There were stories, of course, that it had been different once; back when instead of Nine Realms there was just one world… but whatever it was that split that Original world, it had completely ruined the surface of Nidavellir. The fumes alone were such that we couldn't be out there for long without elaborate masks or specialized spells. The few tunnels that lead to the surface were either sealed almost permanently, or covered in elaborate rune-wards to make sure the air inside would remain pure.

We hadn't worried, even as the Convergence approached. According to records, the last one hadn't touched Nidavellir at all, there was no reason to believe this one would be any different. Until a sentry rushed into the common room where the children (five-years-old by then) were playing with some little dwarrows. According to him, a couple of planes had flown through one of the portals and into Nidavellir, while one of them seemed to be alright, just hadn't left yet, the other had crash-landed, and it didn't look like it'd be getting back into the air. The biggest shock came when a small hologram was showed of the kind of plane… it was human, a military jet.

It was relatively simple, in the end, slipping into protective suits and with the equivalent of an air bubble around our heads, Loki and I went out. I made sure the pilot on the jet, while unconscious, was still alive and not in danger of dying anytime soon. Then, together, we floated the jet off the ground and through the portal we knew lead into Midgard.

We didn't left immediately either. Instead took the chance to look through the portals, at what was on the other side. Earth seemed to be alright. I was sure someone must have deployed the jets just as a precautionary measure, having no idea what would happen (could only hope someone on the other side would be able to give them a reasonable explanation… though all the same, it wasn't my business in the end). There was also Alfheim, as beautiful and peaceful as ever. I could barely get a glimpse of Jotunheim and Vanaheim, and didn't much care for either. Muspelheim's portal was too far, again, not something I (either of us, really) cared for. Helheim reminded me of Helena; we'd taken to visiting her at least once a year, on Samhain (her birthday). And then there was the portal that lead to Asgard… while my match might not have said a word, I knew that the thought of that realm still pained him inside. The things he'd lost, had sacrificed the night I called upon Nidavellir's asylum… and the things he'd lost even before, long ago, when a spell was cast and so much was forgotten.

And then yet another elf made an appearance: Princess Tawariell, the youngest member of the Sisterhood. She didn't actually arrive alone, she was with her personal handmaiden: Lassiel, and a small contingent which included Erynion and Thenidiel. She'd offered herself as Ambassador to Nidavellir, and because apparently we'd been seen, during the Convergence. It shouldn't have surprised us, really, though we still made it very clear that I was not Tinúviel, had no interest in being Tinúviel, or moving to Alfheim, regardless of their kind offer to host me and my family there. We were happy in Nidavellir.

Surprisingly (or not so much, in hindsight), Tawariell insisted on working as an ambassador, and on renewing ties between the two Realms. She managed to convince her 'sisters' and Queen on amending the current treaties into something closer to what had been in place when I'd been in power, something that helped all, and not just Alfheim. Just a few weeks later, on Midsummer's Eve, Tawariell sang, something I knew no princess had done in history. Because princesses were supposed to have no ties to anyone but each other, it was why they left their families. There had been some who would retire and seek a different life; but never before had a princess, while still being a princess, sung.

It might have seemed strange, but truth was that singing during the Summer Solstice was much more complicated than it'd seem to an outsider at first sight. Singing on it's own was important, all elves had a pretty voices and a gift for music; also, those with a degree of magic were capable of imbuing their voices with that magic, creating what was known as Songs of Power. There were legends in our archives, of a time before the existence of Alfheim as we knew it, when ladies with that ability, Songstresses they were called, used it to achieve great things: protecting innocents, motivating an army towards victory, even putting a terrible enemy to sleep. In our current time and age no one really believed in Songstresses anymore. Though one trace of that legend still endured. During Midsummer's Eve, as part of the traditional festival, elves both male and female, would be given a chance to sing. A song from their hearts, one that would express everything they were, so they might call to the other half of them, their match. It was a lovely tradition. Many believed that couples created through a midsummer song were blessed by the Mother of the Stars, and thus would last as long as her stars shone in the sky.

I didn't actually sing during a Midsummer Festival, ever… but Loki did. He had attended in secret, giving no name; but he was singing for me. Even though I was the crown princess of Alfheim, who was supposed to become Queen in less than a year, he still called to me. And I couldn't help but respond. True matches… they cannot be ignored.

That's exactly what happened when Tawariell sang… and Caél responded.

It was absolutely insane, and at the same time beyond beautiful. Filip would look at my love and I, tell us it was all our fault in a perfect deadpan voice, a fake-chiding tone which would have probably carried more weight if it hadn't been for his match giggling behind him at the same time. Also, we knew he loved his little brother dearly, he wanted Caél to be happy, it didn't matter who with, the fact that the boy had found his place, and his match… it was all Filip wanted (and the fact that his match was a she-elf made it enough of a miracle them ever meeting at all; there was no way of knowing how long it would have taken without us there, if it would even have happened at all).

The courting lasted for a year, as was dwarven tradition. Courting gifts were exchanged, Loki and I had been appointed as chaperons for whatever the reason. And then Tawariell informed us of what she planned on offering as a gift to her new family… That went beyond the traditions, but Tawariell knew it was significant, for a princess of Alfheim to be marrying a prince of Nidavellir. Even if their line wouldn't be inheriting the throne, they were royals (because, apparently, Queen Faelwen had refused to take Tawariell's title away; even when another was chosen to take her place in the Sisterhood, she remained a princess as well, just like I had in the past). And Tawariell wanted to offer something, not just to the Royal family, but to the dwarven race. I probably should have seen it coming…

"A blessing..." Should have seen it coming, yet somehow it took me completely by surprise.

"Yes." Tawariell nodded, smiling brightly. "I know it's not easy, and my magic is not particularly strong, which is why I require help. But I know it can be done. I know it was done in the past, a very long time ago… And even if my power alone isn't enough to start the blessing, just being an elf will be enough to keep it going, for as long as I might live…"

"For as long as your line might live." I corrected her, absently.

"I know." She said it with such conviction, I wondered how she did.

I'd known of the blessing, of course. There were one or two books in the Royal Library of Alfheim that mentioned it; but it was also mentioned that said blessing hadn't been used for over three millennia, most wouldn't even believe it had ever existed at all. Except she did…

"We'll help you." I nodded.

When Elanor and Merenwen found out what we were planning, they immediately offered their assistance. They loved the idea of giving something to those that had given them a new chance. It was perfect. One she-elf for every cardinal point, two half-blood children to represent lineages, the passing of time, the lasting of the blessing. And Loki's magic which allowed us to extend that blessing to a territory bigger than anyone probably had any right to expect.

I will never forget the expression on Filip's, Siri's and Caél's faces when they saw what we had done. The huge chamber that had been blessed and was ready for plants. It was the same place where the original blessing had been used. Also, as we'd discovered in the upcoming months, the blessing actually reached more than just that chamber, extending to the smaller ones that connected to it; some that were sometimes used, though with vague results, and others that hadn't been used in even longer than the main one. Those chambers were going to change Nidavellir, far more than anyone could have known or hoped for.

We didn't find out about the battle that had taken place in Asgard during, but especially after, the Convergence, until a good few months after the fact. Between Tawariell's arrival, the beginning of the courting process, the dwarven Elders going crazy over the fact that their Prince (who was still second in line to the throne since the Queen hadn't yet had an heir) had chosen a she-elf as his One (nevermind that with involuntary matches such as theirs, and ours, it was less a matter of choice, and more one of destiny).

Filip did make sure his informants had gotten all the pertinent information before we were told anything, though. As it turned out Malekith (who, according to Asgardian history had been dead for millennia, same as all the Svartalfar) had been very much alive, same as his followers. The Aether (which, yet again, was supposed to have been destroyed, yet wasn't… couldn't have been considering it was a freaking Infinity Stone!) had called to him. What no one had expected was when the Aether found itself a host in a human astrophysicist: Dr. Jane Foster. Thor had dropped onto Midgard (London) when Heimdall found out about the anomalies being created by the Convergence. When Foster unexpectedly expelled some of the Aether's energy to protect herself, he decided to take her to Asgard. Another woman, an Agent Darcy Lewis, had taken hold of the two just in time to end up in Asgard as well, refusing to leave without Foster (Loki and I were quite sure the Allfather must have had kittens at that one, two mortals in Asgard!). There had been at least two battles, bad. So bad Odin had almost died, Thor had taken over, Frerin had been freed on the condition that he join the Aesir against the Svartalfar; and he had, going into battle with Ylva astride him (we kinda felt bad we couldn't witness that, must have been a sight…). Also, rumors had it that the Agent, Lewis, had saved the Queen from a Kursed, and that Foster had not only managed to device a way to free herself from the Aether, but had also helped concoct the plan that brought down Malekith and the Dark Elves, once and for all. The latter which was why when, less than three months later, the betrothal between Prince Thor and Dr. Jane Foster was announced, the Aesir supported it.

Loki and I… we were happy for Thor, that he apparently had found his match (it was the only way to explain their relationship advancing so fast… much as had happened with Tawariell and Caél); I also couldn't stop giggling at Odin having to deal with the fact that a mortal wouldn't just be marrying one of his sons, but would one day be the Queen of Asgard! To think of how fast he'd moved against me when he knew of my existence; yet the way things had happened with Thor and Jane, he never got the chance. And perhaps, with everything going on, Thor would begin to understand why his intended actions back in 09 had been so wrong… Not like we were planning on risking a visit any time soon, but still. We were under no illusions, the asylum could not last forever; or, maybe it could, but it wasn't meant to, even without the Sight we both knew that on an instinctive level.

xXx

Ten years after our arrival to Nidavellir, our lives were almost perfect. We had each other, we had our beautiful Rose, would visit Helena every so often. And there was, of course, our extended family: Caél, Tawariell, Merenwen, Elanor, Rhîwiôn, Filip, Siri, and the youngest addition to it: Prince Orvar, in honor of one of Siri's ancestors; Even Erynion and Thenidiel would drop by every once in a while. Yet it was only 'almost perfect' because there was family we were missing, who couldn't be there: like Aunt Kathryn, Thor, Loki's mom…

It wasn't exactly surprising when, on a particular morning in early Summer, those very memories pushed me to sing something for all I saw as family, both near and far away, they were all family:

"Winter has come for me, can't carry on

The chains to my life are strong but soon they'll be gone

I'll spread my wings one more time"

"Is it a dream?

All the ones I have loved

Calling out my name

The sun warms my face

All the days of my life

I see them passing me by"

I could almost hear her sometimes, Aunt Kathryn, calling to me. I'd never stop feeling bad for the way I left, with hardly a letter with some explanation. It had been for her own safety, of course, but still. A letter would never be enough to convey how much I loved the woman. While I'd never forget Aislinn Kinross-Salani was my mom (I had vague memories of her, and a recording of her singing me to sleep); Aunt Kathryn was the one to raise me, more than even my father (him… I missed what we could have been rather than what we were). I wanted nothing more than to see her again, to let her know what she meant to me, how much I loved her and always would.

"In my heart I know I can let go

In the end I will find some peace inside

New wings are growing tonight"

"Is it a dream?

All the ones I have loved

Calling out my name

The sun warms my face

All the days of my life

I see them passing me by"

I knew of course that Loki missed his family as well, especially his mom; though all the same we had no doubt that the day would come when they'd be together again. The hardest part for him though, was missing Thor… not the Thor he'd known over the past several centuries, but the one that had existed before that, the one that had disappeared along with the memory of me and of our love… the Thor who'd truly been a brother to Loki. One neither of us could know would be back.

"As I am soaring, I'm one with the wind

I am longing to see you again, it's been so long

We will be together again"

"Is it a dream?

All the ones I have loved

Calling out my name

The sun warms my face

All the days of my life

I see them passing me by"

I was still getting my breath back after the rather intense song (while I sung often enough, no song had taken so much out of me in quite a while, I'd really needed the release), Loki standing silently a few yards away, with Rose sitting beside him. We were in one of the smaller chambers that had been touched by the Blessing, one that had been turned into a flower garden, rather than used for growing food (the seeds had been delivered by Helena, personally, collected from both my gardens, the one in Midgard, and the one in Alfheim, as well as Loki's own private garden in Asgard; so it was a perfect mix of blossoms from all three worlds).

"It's beautiful mama." Rose said with a bright smile.

And then we were interrupted, in a most unexpected way, by one of the King's servants:

"Lady Nightingale, your presence is requested in the Royal Hall." He informed me.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, worriedly.

Nothing had happened in years, we were at peace, and while I knew even good things couldn't last forever, I had still hoped…

"We received a call from an outsider." He informed me. "It requires your presence."

"A call from whom?" My match inquired.

He was obviously contemplating what the chances were of one or another person calling, and what might be behind each of their hypothetical calls. When the servant's answer came, though, it took us completely by surprise:

"She calls herself Kathryn Sphinx…"

xXx Kathryn's POV xXx

It's not easy, being an Agent of SHIELD. I began service shortly after turning eighteen, after changing my name from Kathryn Salani, to my mother's name: Adler. With two parents who'd worked for either MI6 or MI5, there was a lot of interest to see at least one of us carrying on with their legacy. Sebastian… my brother was too kind, too… soft, for that kind of life. And he was my little brother, I'd raised him more than either of our parents ever did, always busy with this or that mission. I never planned on being an agent, but was willing to do so, to ensure that Bastian never had to. That he'd be free of that burden. I couldn't tell him though, so instead I let him believe that I abandoned him, it might have been cruel, but I wanted to believe that I was at least giving him a chance…

I spent around two years working for MI5, with a single mission for MI6, in Africa; before I was recruited into the SSR, where I spent a few more. Then, in 1985, my SO convinced myself and my partner: Shannon, to follow her into a new organization: the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or, more simply put, SHIELD. Our SO was set to be one of the leaders of that organization, her name: Marge Sholto, nee Carter.

It was in SHIELD that I met Nicholas. Nicholas Fury, former CIA. He, Shannon and I became the first joint team, under the direct orders of Director Carter-Sholto and General Chester Phillips (who, in many ways, served as a second leader of the organization). The Elites, they came to call us. It was during a long-term deep-undercover mission in Egypt that I got the code-name I'd come to be known by: Sphinx. I also eventually came to lead my own team, formed by some of the most promising recruits in that generation: Philip Coulson, Melinda May and Maria Hill (at first we had Victoria Hand, but she chose a different path at some point). Many believed they'd be the next generation of Elites… but fate had other plans.

I retired from SHIELD in 1995, my brother's wife had just died, leaving him to raise their three-year-old daughter alone. So I changed my name back to Salani and joined Sebastian when he chose to move to the US. There I took a job as a nurse and did my best to help him raise Silbhé. Bastian loved that girl so much, when she was diagnosed with leukemia… I thought it would be the thing that finally did him in! It wasn't, and yet, it changed him. Even when Silbhé went into remission… Sebastian had spent as much time as possible with her while she was sick, took time off work as much as he could. He had to make up for it afterwards; but somehow it didn't end there. He kept working, longer and longer hours, until he was hardly ever home. And with Silbhé working on her schooling (even if she was home-schooled by me), they hardly ever saw each other. By the time the cancer came back, in 06… I'm not sure, he ever knew. By then he was spending most of the time in Europe, working on some very important project. I kept leaving him messages, asking him to call me (no way I was going to leave tell him what was going on over a voicemail!). And then Silbhé got miraculously better so…

Except it was no miracle, I knew that even then. I always knew there was something about Luka Hvedrungr. Even without access to the kind of things I'd had when working for the government, even without Silbhé's knowledge of mythology, my instincts told me there was more to that boy, to my niece's best (only) friend, than it seemed. Also, the fact that regardless of how often he visited Silbhé, all the stories she'd tell about him, about their talks, I never actually got to see him more than some glances from a distance… that would have made anyone mighty suspicious. And of course there was also the fact that, having worked for SHIELD, I knew there was a lot more in the world, in the universe, than most people knew, or would ever know.

What happened in 2009 still caught me by surprise though. Even knowing gifted people existed, being quite sure that Luka must be one of them… I never expected him to in truth be Loki, God of Mischief, and hail from Asgard! That letter Silbhé left me… if I hadn't had all the experience I did I might have gone crazy. Even then, I worried so much until a messenger dropped by, months later: a short man, dressed in clothes that didn't seem to fit him quite right, he claimed to be a messenger from Nidavellir and handed me a letter from Silbhé. I managed to convince him to talk to me. And so I learned his name was Dralvan, and he was not only a messenger for the King of Nidavellir, he also served as a sort of researcher, as dwarves liked to know what the situation was in all the Realms, not wanting to make the same mistake Asgard had, keeping to themselves, not knowing what was happening beyond their own borders. So, despite the fact that they kept to themselves for the most part, they were also perhaps the best informed about everyone else. We made a deal then: he'd carry my letters to Silbhé, and hers to me, once a year, and I'd gather newspapers and other materials of the most important things to happen on Earth during that same year. Once their technology was half-explained to me and we realized it could read SDcards it got even easier. He still did his yearly 'tours', but I knew he liked what I got him too.

I went back to SHIELD in 2011. With Iron-Man flying everywhere, the Hulk causing that mess in Harlem while taking down the Abomination Blonski became, Captain America being found in the ice and turning out to be alive, and the mutants popping up all around the globe in increasing numbers… I had a story prepared. Officially Silbhé had decided grad studies were too much for the time being, she wanted to be young and carefree for a while longer, and thus decided to travel for a while (I even got a hacker friend of mine to create a fool-proof trail, in case anyone went looking). I knew, of course, that Nicholas would find out sooner or later, never doubted that he must be keeping tabs on me; and I was right. Using the excuse that I must be getting bored, what with Silbhé off traveling, and Sebastian re-married and living in Germany, he offered me a place back in SHIELD. The team was no more, since he was the current Director of SHIELD and Shannon had died during a mission in the nineties, shortly after my 'retirement'. Even my old team was no longer such, with Maria as Nicholas's SiC, though Phil and Mel had recently gone back to working together as part of a new, special team. I accepted his offer, and thus Kathryn Adler, the Sphinx, came to be once again (I made arrangements to take a week off, every year, and spent it in Salani Manor in Maine though, the week I knew Dralvan was due).

In 2015 the Convergence took humanity by surprise. The revelation that we weren't alone in the universe… the world wasn't ready for it. It was one thing to know that humans could be different, that some could be born (or be changed) and have the power to move things with their minds, or control metal, or ice or… so many other things. The idea that there were other worlds, that there was life in them and, finally, that they could access our world. It was perhaps too much for quite a lot of people. The hardest part for me was watching everyone at SHIELD trying to make heads or tails of the situation during the three days Dr. Foster and Agent Lewis went missing and pretend I hadn't the slightest idea of anything (I didn't quite know the details until afterwards, when I met with Dralvan and he explained the whole thing to me; but still).

Prince Thor shared a lot with us; mostly, I knew, to be on good terms with his intended's people. I wasn't sure how that was supposed to work, considering my niece was forced to call on asylum from another Realm when the Allfather went after her simply for knowing Loki. Perhaps the fact that there was no way to hide something like the Convergence helped. I could only wonder how things would go when my niece and her beloved finally returned; because I knew it would happen some day (and I wanted so much to meet little Rosie!). I was also quite sure that Nicholas had finally pushed the Avengers Initiative through as a way to keep as much control over not just Thor, but the other superhumans who had become so important in recent years (and even some who weren't so super).

The first attempt at an alien invasion happened in 2016. We didn't quite know what it was until it was over already. A portal opened in the sky but was too unstable to remain open more than a few seconds, thankfully nothing got through. It was quite the warning though. The very next day SHIELD had contacted Dr. Jane Foster who, while already pretty much engaged to marry, hadn't wanted to leave her work unfinished, something Thor supported. Once the threat of an alien invasion became known, with Foster the one who best understood portals and how to handle them, she became very important to the protection of our world, as did the Avengers.

As the attempts at invasion kept getting worse, I knew Loki and Silbhé would have been a great help, but I couldn't bring it up yet. Not without some guarantee that they'd be safe, that Odin or someone else wouldn't go after my niece the moment she left Nidavellir. The opportunity finally seemed to arrive when Thor himself brought Loki up. Of course I never expected the problem then would be that no one had the slightest idea of how to get in touch with them!

I could hardly believe it. A decade since Loki and Silbhé were forced to flee, and not once had Thor gotten in touch with his brother?! Didn't even know how to do it? I felt sorely tempted not to do a thing. If he hadn't even tried… that was at least until the next portal was opened, lasting a whole half hour this time. The Avengers, along with the X-Men, the Inhumans, and every other Gifted in the area fought with everything they had… it almost wasn't enough.

"I can get us an audience." I announced.

I knew it was a complete non-sequitur. We'd just finished talking about the battle, about the damages that kept growing, about all the ways Foster's and Selvig's devices just weren't enough anymore. Stark had even begun offering increasingly insane plans… and then I decided that there was never going to be a 'right time' to drop such a bomb, so I just went ahead and did it. Of course, maybe I should have considered that just saying those words, without any context was never going to be enough.

"Agent Adler?" Several voices asked at the same time.

"With King Filip of Nidavellir." I knew that saying the dwarf's name would be enough proof that I could do what I said, at least for Thor.

"How…?" Maria was looking at me in absolute shock.

"That, I'm afraid, I cannot explain." I answered evenly.

Thankfully, Nicholas was busy dealing with some matters in Washington, and the others felt the gravity of the situation acutely enough to decide we should just go ahead and make the call to Nidavellir right away.

The making of the call on its own wasn't that hard; at least, not with the Foster-window. We even had the right coordinates for the dwarven realm already; Foster and Selvig had been able to make the right calculations for them since the idea of getting help from Thor's brother had first come up. The thing was, just pushing the other end of the tunnel created by the Window wasn't enough, we needed those on the other side to 'accept the call' so-to-speak; and nothing we did had granted us that… yet.

Still somewhat doubtful (I didn't blame her for it, she didn't know me) Foster went ahead and gave the order for the Window to be activated, then went and entered the coordinates herself. It took a few minutes, but eventually her part was done, and she turned to look at me. The Window was dark, nothing yet on the other side.

Taking a deep breath, I went to stand before the Window and pronounced the words I had learned by heart since first seeing them in one of the letters:

"I am Kathryn Sphinx, daughter of August, of the Houses of Salani and Adler. Father-sister of Silbhé Nightingale. I request an audience with her, by leave of the House of Erebor!"

"The Lady Nightingale…?!" I heard Thor cry out in shock behind me.

There was really no time for him to actually ask any question, or for me to try and explain anything, for right then the Window opened.

"Lady Sphinx…" a blonde male in elegant clothes, with a heavy crown upon his head, spoke. "Father-sister of the Lady Nightingale… I am Filip, son of Duthin, of the House of Erebor, King of Nidavellir. It is an honor to meet such a fine lady."

"The honor is all mine, Your Majesty." I replied sincerely, bowing my head in respect. "I know this is rather sudden, but I truly would like to speak with my brother-daughter."

"I can see you're not alone." The King commented off-handedly. "You're aware, my lady, of the risk you put yourself in by revealing your connection to them before such company."

"I know." I nodded. "I trust my people would protect me if it were necessary, like I also trust it won't be. However, the situation being what it is, I judged this to be necessary."

"And what is the situation, my lady?" The King sounded honestly curious.

"You are aware of the portals that appear on our skies every so often, an attempt at invasion from another galaxy." He was, of course, I'd sent him the information myself, after the first year. "It has gotten worse. Soon Dr. Foster's and Dr. Selvig's inventions will not be enough to close them. We need more help."

"You need their help." Of course he understood. "I understand that. What you must understand, what everyone on your side must understand my lady, is that my House owes a great debt to the Lady Nightingale. We will not allow her, and her match, to put themselves in danger."

"There will be no danger." Thor spoke up, finally. "I swear on my name, my honor as Prince of Asgard, and the Honor of my line. No harm will come upon my brother or his lady, this I swear."

"Then to your word I shall hold you, Prince Thor, son Odin, of Asgard." The King nodded.

He made a signal to someone outside of view, and then all we did was wait. I could feel the eyes staring holes behind my back, but I ignored them. The time for the explanations would come, but not yet, not just yet.

xXx Nightingale's POV xXx

I took a deep breath before entering the Royal Hall, in a sense we all did. While in the decade since first arriving to Nidavellir we'd all become very close to the royal family, to the point of treating each other like family (I knew I sometimes treated Caél like a little brother, both Loki and I did, and he did not mind); I knew I couldn't do that with other people watching. Dwarves might have accepted us as more than refugees, as honored guests, as chosen family of their royals; but we could not show our hand to outsiders, it would have been too dangerous.

Aunt Kathryn knew, of course she did. How else could one explain a dwarf being willing to take the time out of his usual duties to visit her, to carry personal correspondence. And yes, the two of them might have formed a friendship all their own (Dralvan had told us, more than once, how remarkable my father-sister was); it wouldn't have begun if he hadn't been doing a favor for someone that was seen as dear to the King, Queen and Prince.

"Your Majesties." I called in my most serene tone as we finally stepped into the Hall.

The place looked the same as always, wide, imposing, and somewhat spartan, the Hall where King Filip would receive guests from other Realms (for only those truly trusted could be allowed to see the true magnificence of dwarven architecture, art, etc). All the same, except for the floating square in the middle of the room, a hole through which we could all see into another realm, into Midgard. And they could see into Nidavellir. The Foster Window, as Aunt Kathryn had described it in her letters (and the scientific journals she'd included in the package she gave to Dralvan one particular year).

"Lady Nightingale, Lord Loki, little lady." He purposefully turned away from the floating screen just enough to wink at Rose. "The Lady Sphinx, of Midgard, has requested an audience with you. I must warn you she's accompanied by quite a few individuals."

"I thank you for your indulgence, Your Majesty, you are very kind." I bowed my head elegantly.

I turned then. Seeing Aunt Kathryn right then, just on the other side of the window; and just a couple of steps behind her and to one side was Prince Thor of Asgard; and behind them a number of people I'd never met.

"Aunt Kathryn, it's so good to see you." I couldn't help but smile.

"That it is." She nodded, then, in a grimmer tone, added: "Though I would much prefer it if the circumstances were different."

"How bad has it gotten?" My Maverick inquired, immediately understanding what was going on.

"You know what's happening?" A black-haired woman, whom we'd eventually learn was called Maria Hill, and was the Deputy Director of SHIELD, intervened.

"Of course we do." Loki scoffed.

I couldn't help but smile.

"My lady." Filip called from behind us (even if the meeting was meant for us, he wasn't about to leave us without backup, just in case. "We dwarves of Nidavellir may have long chosen to keep to our own lands, but that means not that we remain willfully ignorant of what transpires beyond our borders. Long have some of our very best been trained to traverse the Hidden Roads, to visit the other Realms and bring back all news they can find, so we might be aware at all times of what our neighbors are capable of; and also where the threats might some day come from." He shook his head. "So yes, we are aware that the chitauri have been attempting to invade Midgard for the past three years, at the very least. And that it's thanks to the ingenuity of your scholars that those attempts have failed thus far; and to your warriors' courage and skill that what enemies have slipped through, haven't wrought the chaos and death your enemies would wish."

"It would appear you're well-informed indeed, Your Majesty." Thor nodded. "The machines created by my intended, the Lady Jane, and her mentor: Dr. Selvig, while a great boon, will not work forever."

"How long?" Loki asked straight out.

"We have reason to believe that the next time a portal is opened… there won't be way of closing, not through human means, in any case." Jane offered quietly.

Which meant we had anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month, possibly more. According to what we knew, the attempts at invasion had at first been spaced by several months, less as time went by. The most recent ones had taken place less than two months apart. Also, there was no way of knowing if the fact that the devices would no longer have an effect meant not only that they wouldn't be able to close the next portal, but also that the next one would be opening sooner. Which, really meant that all we could be certain of was that an attack was coming, even if we hadn't the slightest idea when.

"And so you want me." Loki, of course, caught that part very quickly. "You expect me to go there and solve this for you. I would ask what you think I owe you, that I should go to your aid when you did not come to mine. And not just that, you turned on me, on my match, out of some old, antiquated belief that mortals should not know about us!"

"Hey!" Several of the people in the back complained about that.

"Precisely." My Maverick scoffed. "You were supposed to be my brother, I was supposed to be able to trust you, yet you turned your back on me. And why? Because the Allfather didn't like me having a mortal for a friend?! For a match?! My Nightingale is my whole life and he intended to destroy her! And you were going to help him! We've been friends since she was eleven-years of age. Had they taken all her memories of me, as they intended, have you any idea what that would have caused?! That many memories, taken away, leaving nothing but holes behind…"

"It would have destroyed her." A man I'd later learn was called Phil Coulson, spoke. "Even if it had just been memories, the conscious part of her mind would have never stopped trying to remember. It might have even driven her crazy eventually."

Thor said nothing, though I could almost feel the grief at the memory, and the way everyone else was looking at him.

"In any case, that's not what truly matters now." I pointed out.

"True." My love agreed. "Like I was saying initially, I won't ask what you think I owe you, or why I should come to your aid, because this is not about you Thor. Regardless of our old quarrels, you're not really the one at danger, were the chitauri and whoever is behind them succeed in their endeavors and take over Midgard. It's the humans that are in need of protection, and I know my match would never forgive me were I to refuse."

"That's not up for debate, because you would never refuse." I pointed out with a small smile. "It's not the kind of man you are, which is one of the reasons I love you in the first place."

"Prince Thor has given his word as to your safety." King Filip informed us. "Nevertheless, I would be remiss in my duties were I to send you on your own."

And Caél would probably smack him (and us) if he didn't have an excuse to go with us.

"How soon can you get here?" Captain Rogers inquired.

Loki and I turned to look at each other as we considered the possibilities, ticking them off out-loud even as we considered the pros and cons of each:

"We cannot use the Bifrost." Loki began.

"No," I agreed. "That much space-energy in the air might just push the next chaos portal into opening up even faster, bigger, and any other number of possibilities."

"Same applies for the Tesseract." He stated (never mind that we shouldn't have known of it…)

"Can we risk the Shadow Paths?" I wanted to know.

"Might not be a good idea." He shook his head. "We're not going alone, after all, and with all the Paths' twists and turns… it could get complicated."

"That leaves us only with one option." He knew I was right, we both did.

"The Hidden Roads." We concluded in sync.

Some quick (silent) calculations, gave us the answer Rogers was waiting for:

"We can be there in a week, Captain." My love announced.

We could only hope it'd be soon enough.

xXx

As promised, we arrived a week after that conversation. It wasn't just Loki and myself either: Caél, Tawariell, Erynion, Thenidiel as well as four elven warriors and half a dozen dwarven ones, followed us (Tawariell, while being no warrior or spellweaver herself, was a talented healer and insisted on accompanying her match). Rose had stayed behind, being looked after by Merenwen and Elanor until our return. Though she had given us a few important messages before our departure (particularly important since she had the Sight).

Stark had already made arrangements for our arrival, insisting that we ought to stay in his tower, along with everyone else. A floor with only bedrooms and bathrooms was fixed for us (it had no common areas, but we were invited to join the others in the penthouse for that): Each couple had a room, while the warriors shared, two or three to a room as necessary.

"So," A man's voice called our attention the moment we stepped into the sitting room.

Of course, Tony Stark went straight for us the moment he'd the chance. The man was way too curious for his own good. Sometimes it seemed like he just couldn't handle not knowing something; and apparently we were the current 'unknown'.

"You are human, like us." He stated, looking straight at me. "Yet you've been living the past ten years in another planet, with dwarves."

"Is there a question somewhere?" I asked in a drawl.

"Why?" He finally got the core of the matter.

"I think we covered that through the window-call." I stated with a shrug. "I've known Loki since I was a child, the Allfather didn't agree with our friendship, with me knowing the truth about him, about all of them. So he sent his people to take the memories that 'threatened' him. I wasn't about to allow that, so I called on asylum from Nidavellir."

"Exactly." Tony nodded. "What I'm really curious about, Lady Songbird, is how exactly you managed to do such a thing. I don't imagine it's something just anyone can do."

I ignored the nickname he gave me, in the short time I'd known him it had become clear to me that he did it with everyone; also, it's not like it was offensive. Not quite as good as Nightingale, or Lindaew, which is what some of the elves had taken to calling me, when I refused to let them refer to me as Tinúviel. In any case, he'd managed to hit the crux of the matter which, didn't surprise me, not really, I knew how much of a genius Tony Stark was; even if a lot of people would get distracted by his cocky attitude and outrageous stunts; I knew better. The whole 'genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist' was as much a facade as 'Princess Lalaith' had once been, as 'Professor Salani' (which is what SHIELD had taken to referring me as, never mind that I'd never actually finished my studies to be such) might be.

"No, it's not." I admitted evenly. "Tell me something Stark…"

"Tony." He interrupted. "Call me Tony."

"Then call me Nightingale." I said in return. "As nice as your little nickname might be, my name is Nightingale."

"I thought it was Silbhé." He arched a brow.

"It's all part of the story." I revealed with an impish grin. "Tell me Tony, what do you know about matches? About soulmates?"

"They don't exist." His answer was simple and had no emotion, yet I could feel an undertone, he didn't quite believe that.

"You don't believe that." I called him on it. "Tell me, do you love your wife?"

"What does Pepper have to do with anything?"

"I promise I have a point."

"Yes, I love her, more than my own life, till death do us part… and all that jazz."

"What if death couldn't part you?"

"What…?"

"If there was a way to guarantee that nothing, not time, space, not even death, could part you, would you take it?"

"Yes, of course." He didn't even hesitate, not for a moment.

"That you're able to answer me so quickly, and without a hint of a doubt tells me all I need to know about your love."

"And what about you so… Nightingale."

"Oh, with me it's not about wondering. It's a fact."

His eyes glinted, even if he'd no idea what was coming, he knew it was going to be good.

"Mine is a story that started a long time ago, longer than most would imagine possible." I said, my voice taking a soft, almost song-like quality, as it always did when I touched my elven soul. "I am Nightingale, I've always been her, and I'll always be her. It's the essence of who I am, who I'll be until the end of time. Names… names might change, my core never shall. And at the very center of my core, is the bond that ties me to my other half, to my perfect match, my only love…"

"Loki..." He was beginning to get it.

By the time I finished my story the sitting room was full. I'd been so engrossed in it I hadn't even realized when any of the others had arrived. Neither had Tony for that matter. Once I was finished though, I couldn't miss the way they were all very attentive, or the way those who were clearly bound to one another (at least to my eyes) sat as close as they could, holding each other in some way or another.

"So, let me see if I understand this." Dr. Banner spoke up, from his spot beside his wife. "You've been married to the same man for two lives?"

"At least." I couldn't help the smile as I said that. "And I'll be by his side for as many lives as the stars might allow us."

"Must be nice." Steve Rogers said, almost wistfully. "To have someone like that."

And he had someone, I could see the bond touching him, extending and disappearing into the distance; his match wasn't present in that moment.

"How do you know when you've found your match?" Skye asked, curious, even as she held her husband's hand. "What proof is there?"

"When you love someone, truly love someone, you don't need proof." My match answered for me, his arms around me as he paused to place a kiss on my hair. "You can feel it."

"Even those without a hint of magic can feel the bond, if they just believe in it, and in their love." I agreed. "It's just…"

"It's knowing that while you can live without them, you'd rather not even try." A new voice, soft, strong and melodic, answered. "It's feeling that no matter the hardships life may put in your way, no matter the troubles, the dangers… it's all worth it, just because you have them by your side. It's believing you're capable of anything and everything, that nothing is impossible because they are with you. It's knowing you're loved, and that in the end that's all that truly matters."

No one replied to that, though I knew the words had touched each and every person present. Me… I was more focused on the person saying those words.

"Cala amin (my light)…" I whispered.

Loki didn't even try to hold me back, in seconds I'd crossed the room, throwing my arms around the raven-black haired, pale-green-eyed woman in a blue and purple gown with gold accents.

"Nana (mama)…" She murmured in reply, corresponding my embrace.

We held on tightly for several seconds. True, we'd been visiting each other over the last decade. That didn't matter, after nine centuries of absence… I'd never get tired of embracing her. My eldest child… the light of my life.

"Nana, there's someone I want you to meet." She announced, stepping back.

I saw him then: blue-green eyes, dark-brown hair with some white on his temples and well-kept facial hair; in blue and brown robes and an elegant red cloak that seemed to be moving on its own. I could also feel his magic, a sorcerer.

"This is Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme." She introduced him, her eyes dancing as she added: "My match."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Nightingale." He took my hand in his, bowing above it in a gesture that was so old… I liked it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Stephen." I nodded.

It took some effort to kiss his brow, but he was still bowed, so that made it somewhat easier, despite our differences in height.

I didn't need to ask Helena if she was sure, if he was the right person for her, if he made her happy… it was all as clear to me as the light of the stars in her eyes… and the bond, like a multi-colored ribbon, dancing between them.

xXx

In the end the battle was somewhat anticlimactic, at least on our end. We knew the exact day, the portal would be open, and that it would be after sunrise but before noon. It was the closest Rose could come to giving us a time, it was enough.

Loki and I had been working on the enchantment since ending the call with Aunt Kathryn. It wasn't easy, in fact, it was the kind of thing that would have been next to impossible if my match weren't exactly who he was, and was made just a tad less so with the aid of the Sorcerer Supreme and his order. We hadn't been expecting that kind of help, while their magic was very different to ours it would help 'ground' our own enchantment, in a way. And Helena would be there to make sure we'd be compatible (which would have probably been harder, hadn't she already had bonds to each of us, as daughter, and as lover).

The enchantment basically consisted of a shield. It'd be anchored on the metaphysical shield the Mystic Order kept in place to protect the world from the beings who might wish to invade from other dimensions. That shield did not affect the chitauri because, much as they might come from another world, it was technically still the same dimension. That was our part. Our shield would pretty much seal Midgard off from the rest of the Realms, by blocking off the Shadow Plane.

"It's impossible." Erynion claimed when he first heard our plan.

"Not quite." My love shook his head impishly.

"It has never done before." Thenidiel pointed out.

"That, is true." I admitted. "Though it'd be more precise to say no one has ever attempted to do something like that."

"And if it's never been attempted, who says it's impossible?" Loki finished for me.

It was still beyond insane. The Shadow Plane… few people could enter it, traverse it, no one fully understood it, and to try and affect it… I wouldn't have believed it possible if it had been anyone other than Loki suggesting it. Not because he was my match, but because I, better than anyone else, knew the kind of power that ran beneath his skin. Hardly anyone had ever seen any 'real' spells from him, and most of them… they saw his magic as nothing more than tricks, because that was all he showed them. Only Lady Frigg had ever seen anything considerable from him, though that had been years and years prior, and even she probably did not know that my Maverick kept more than half of his power sealed, for his safety as much as anyone else's.

That day, for what we were doing, my love had broken all his seals, he'd also brought out a collection of crystals filled with the overflow of his power. It had taken decades to create all those crystals, so many years, when he'd pour out as much power as necessary until he no longer felt at risk of blowing up the most basic spell, back when his power had gotten so high, and he'd yet to discover the existence of seals. The crystals had always been meant for an emergency, a life-or-death situation… what better occasion than securing the safety of a world?

"Are we ready?" Helena asked through a set of comms.

"We are." I agreed.

She was in Kamar-Taj, with her match, she'd be the one to connect the magic the Mystic Order was pouring into their own Sanctums, and through those their own shield, to our own actions. We were on the opposite side of the globe (which wasn't exactly easy, considering that meant we were pretty much on the sea, almost two thousand miles from the coast of Chile).

"It's begun!" Jane announced loudly.

"The devices have failed." Selvig added what we were already expecting.

The first complication was that we weren't dealing with one portal, but two. One over the US, close to NY, but not quite there (which was both good and bad, good because most of the heroes were there already, bad because there were also a lot of civilians, and even with all our plans and contingencies, there was no way to protect absolutely everyone). The other opened in South Africa. Which sent us all into a tizzy, until a member of the Justice League informed us that there were warriors in place who would be able to fight. We hadn't the slightest idea who that was supposed to be, but were willing to take him at his word.

What not many had understood, when the plan was made and (mostly) explained, was why Loki and I couldn't put the seal on the Shadow Plane before the portals opened.

"It's like… it's like medicine." I had trouble finding a better way to explain. "You cannot take medicine for something if you're not sick yet. It wouldn't work."

"You might end up making the sickness resistant to the medicine instead." Pepper at least was following my metaphor.

"Exactly." I nodded. "Much as we'd rather there was no invasion, in order for this shield to work as it should we must… show it what it must block. Because it's not just a matter of blocking the Shadow Plane and done. Doing that is, in fact, impossible."

It would have meant sealing the planet completely from everything else, as if it were, effectively, all that existed in the universe. Such a thing went against the natural laws.

"Our shield will not seal things completely, but it will block enough of the Shadow Plane, so portals can no longer be opened." My love finally saw fit to explain things better. "In order for that to be done, the enchantment needs to be done at a time when there is a portal. The magic then will seal it, and prevent anything similar from existing again."

"What about travel to other realms?" The Lady Sif, one of the Aesir who'd joined Thor, asked.

"The Bifrost will work, but only in the specific spot where it's meant to be used in this world." Loki announced. "That path is predetermined. You just won't be able to appear wherever you want." He scoffed. "It's nothing extraordinary, only how things should be. How they are in any other realm."

He did not tell them that we'd no longer be able to shadow-walk to or from Midgard. That was alright, there were still the Hidden Roads (even if they took longer to traverse).

And so there we were, ready to do our part to ensure the safety of the world. Worried as I might have been for Aunt Kathryn, Helena, Stephen, and the people I'd come to know and begun to care for in the short time we'd had to know them, we had our own task, and needed to focus on it.

Our own part was rather anticlimactic, all things told. We had no enemies to deal with, the battles were taking place far enough away. By the time the enemy realized something was happening that would ruin their plans it was much too late for them to even think about finding us, much less to actually do it.

I felt the exact moment the magic took hold, first our enchantment, then as it connected with the barrier created by the Mystic Order, Helena's own energy securing it together, making the two barriers into one and the same. The two portals vanished even faster than they'd appeared, I could have almost sworn some metaphorical door had slammed close so loud my ears rang.

"It's done..." I couldn't help but whisper out-loud.

"It's done." My love confirmed with a smile.

For several seconds neither of us said a word, just standing on the rather small boat we'd rented hours earlier. We had so very little magic it was a miracle we were still awake (and I'd no doubt we both be crashing, soon, and for quite a while); one thought crossed my mind then:

"I wanna go home." I whispered softly, even as I embraced my love.

My match wound his arms around me, as much to embrace me as to hold me up, I suspected. That was fine with me. He knew what I meant. That I wasn't talking about the Tower, or Salani Manor in Maine. No, I was talking about our set of of rooms deep in a mountain in another realm.

"Lets go home." He agreed.

xXx

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Things can never be that easy. My love and I slept (more like hibernated, according to Tony Stark) for a week straight following the battle. It was actually surprising that we made it all the way to New York, with some help from one of Stephen's sorcerers (a student, as those had been on stand-by, just in case, yet hadn't actively participated on any part of the battle). We pretty much fell asleep the moment we touched our beds. Helena going in at some point afterwards to strip us down to our underclothes, as she knew that close contact would help us recover faster.

The day we woke up we packed our bags, ready to depart as soon as lunch was over. (We knew Stark was planning a party, but neither of us had any interest on staying longer than we absolutely had to, we missed our loved ones too much). Caél had been the worst off, ending with a scar that ran down the side of his face, just barely missing his left eye. He'd carry the scar for the rest of his life but that was alright, Tawariell had made sure he'd be alright, and she didn't mind the scar (claimed it made him look ruggedly handsome).

We were about to take off, when they arrived. Pretty much all of those who called themselves Avengers, as well as some others who'd been there to receive us the first day: like Skye, her husband Grant, Agents Phil and Darcy Coulson.

*I had really hoped we'd be able to avoid making a spectacle of ourselves.* I mind-spoke to my beloved as I sighed out-loud.

*This is Thor we're dealing with.* My Maverick pointed out evenly. *You should have known such a thing was nigh impossible.*

He was right, of course; I still had hoped.

"You would have left, just like that, brother?" Thor asked, the hurt so evident in his voice, stance and expression, it was almost tangible. "Without a word goodbye?"

"Thor, much as you might not want to admit it, we're not brothers." Loki informed him in an even, yet somewhat soft tone. "We haven't been for a long time."

"Is this because of my actions ten years ago?" Thor asked, though he didn't actually wait for an answer. "I know you must view them as a betrayal, must believe I have forsaken you, but I swear to you brother…"

"Tell me something Thor, what is my match's name?" My Maverick cut him off unexpectedly.

No one understood the question, except me, I knew exactly what was coming.

"The Lady Nightingale." Thor answered promptly.

"Her other name." Loki pressed.

"I…" Thor actually stopped, brow furrowing and expression twisting as he tried and failed to bring the memory up. "I know she had another name, I know you told it to me, but I'm afraid I cannot remember it."

"No, you cannot." Loki nodded. "Because of the spell the Allfather put into place centuries ago, to keep me from remembering my love. In his misguided belief that if I couldn't remember her, I'd no longer be grieved by her loss."

"That's stupid." Caél scoffed.

"As if the soul would ever not know that its other half is missing." Tawariell added softly.

"Indeed." I nodded. "It didn't work. Not as he intended, in any case. He forgot alright, but the hole was still there, and he reacted to it. He lashed out at a loss he himself couldn't understand. And as no one else did either, they couldn't understand, couldn't help him."

"But you remember." Skye stated more than asked.

"Yes." I nodded. "Like we explained to you all that day, when Loki made that spell that was supposed to protect my memories from the mage the Allfather was going to send… something went wrong… or perhaps not wrong, the effect just wasn't what we intended. Instead of locking up the memories we wished to protect, it broke locks we weren't even aware were there." I sighed. "But the spell affected only us. Whatever it was the Allfather did originally to make Loki forget, and with him everyone else, it's still in place. It no longer affects us, but everyone else remains the same. I could tell Thor my old life's name a thousand times, he'd still forget it by the end of the day."

"How do we solve it?" Jane wanted to know.

"I don't know that it can be done." I admitted. "And truth be told, we don't care for it."

"Brother…" Thor's tone wasn't that of whining child just then, but of a grieving man.

"I do love you, brother, I suspect I always will." My match admitted quietly. "But, hard as it might be for us to admit. You're not the brother I used to know, not without those memories. And I'm not the person you used to know either, not now that I have them, as well as my match, back. We just… I guess we've changed too much."

"That doesn't mean you have to go." Jane said, very quietly.

I knew she wasn't saying it for our benefit, she didn't care, didn't know us; but she loved Thor dearly, and knew he didn't want us to go.

"That's not why we're leaving." I told her sincerely. "Simply put, Nidavellir is our home now. Our move there, it might have started as us fleeing, seeking asylum, but we're more than refugees there now. We're citizens. We like it there, and they like us. That's the place we call home, the only home our daughter has ever known, with her godparents, and a bunch of aunts and uncles, and two boys she sees as her cousins."

And soon a girl… Tawariell was expecting, I could tell, even if I wasn't sure if she'd realized it herself just yet. I could hardly wait to see everyone's faces, especially Caél, when they found out.

"Will you visit?" Darcy wanted to know.

"Asgard? Probably not." Loki shrugged. "Not until my match's safety is guaranteed, and that will not happen for a very long time. The Allfather is much too proud to admit he was wrong, going after her a decade ago. And I will not risk her, or Rose."

"We will be coming here." I added. "To visit Aunt Kathryn."

"And she's of course welcome to visit Nidavellir, whenever she wishes." Caél offered. "My brother will probably be extending a more formal invitation at some point, but you are welcome anytime, Lady Sphinx."

"My thanks." Aunt Kathryn bowed her head, knowing how huge such an invitation was, from people who were said to be so very isolationist.

"Can you even do such a thing?" Fury wanted to know. "I thought the purpose of your… work the other day, was to seal our world from alien threats?"

"Indeed." My match nodded evenly. "No one else will be able to open a portal into your world again. Nor use the Shadow Paths. The Bifrost will work, but only on the designated location. As for us… that's what the Hidden Roads are for."

"What are the Hidden Roads?" Coulson wanted clarification on that.

"They are… passages." I sought the best way to explain. "It is said that a very long time ago, instead of 9 Realms, there was one world. A world where all races existed together. Until one day something happened. Some cataclismic event that literally tore the world into pieces; leaving the Realms as we know them today."

"I call bullshit." Stark deadpanned.

"We know it sounds impossible." I agreed calmly. "Not many people believe it. I'm not saying I do, or don't. The reason I mentioned it, is that the Hidden Roads are, essentially, passages that connect the Realms. And some believe that the only reason they can exist at all is because there was a time when, indeed, all the Realms were one."

It was irrelevant in the end if they believed or not in the legend. The Hidden Roads still existed.

"Not just anyone can use the Hidden Roads, few people know they exist, or have ever learned to travel more than one." Loki stated. "So you need not worry that you'll be in danger through such means. Indeed I believe I might be the only person in all the realms who might know all the Roads there exist."

He was right, of course. That was one of the reasons he was known as SkyTreader, the other being his Shadow-walking.

In the end Tony managed to convince us to stay long enough for all of us to have a long brunch together. He also got us to promise to visit him when we dropped by the realm to see Aunt Kathryn. My Maverick liked Tony, much as I might not fully understand it (I thought it might be that they were so similar, at the core), so it wasn't exactly a hardship.

xXx

We made it back to Nidavellir in a week. Rose clearly had managed to predict our arrival to the very second, considering the way she jumped and threw herself into my arms the moment we crossed the doors into the Royal Halls. I would have fallen if it hadn't been for Loki holding me from behind, ensuring we'd be okay.

"Amad (Mama)!" She cried out brightly. "I missed you!" The she turned over my shoulder and added. "Missed you to Adad (Papa)!"

It surprised me not at all that she was using the dwarven words for mom and dad. I knew Siri had taken to teaching her, just like she'd done with Elanor and Merenwen, and helped do with Tawariell. It was very true what we'd told Thor before our departure, we were no mere refugees, not anymore, we were citizens.

It was almost funny, considering that at the time I (or my past self) had been granted leave to learn khuzdul, so few people had spoken it, and never really outside of Nidavellir (couldn't risk having outsiders listening in). And yet in just one decade no less than five outsiders (the children included, though not including Loki and myself as we'd known it already) had been not just allowed to learn the language, but encouraged to use it. There were even talks about allowing Thenidiel and Erynion the same, with how often they'd taken to visiting. That one wasn't for sure just yet. Time would tell.

"I missed you too, sweetheart." I whispered, holding her tight. "We're home now."

Yeah, home. Nothing would ever be more important than that.

---

So, how crazy did I get this time? I just really wanted to make that scene with everyone going nuts and Thor going all 'I know someone' and then the 'He will not help because he fucked up' moment. It's what pretty much sparked this AU. And I used Nidavellir, on the one hand for the reasons Nightingale expresses in the fic itself; on the other because it gave me something new to work with.

As always, full-sized poster/cover and set of wallpapers can be found in DeviantArt.

Next piece, and the last AU fully dedicated to the version of Nightingale we've known for most (practically all, really), of this series. Also a piece that's been in my mind since long before "Fate and Destiny" was written! All I'm giving you is this: What if Sif had all along been the kind of friend to Loki she should have been? That's pretty much the premise for the next AU, a two-part piece called "Keeper of Memories"