What the hell am I going to say? What can I say? Thor, I'm sorry darling, but your soon to be wife doesn't want your company because she's sleeping with her handmaiden. Don't be mad. I hope you weren't too set on marrying her. Please don't have been too set on marrying her.

"Lady Natasha."

She'd been so caught up in her own head that Nat hadn't realized where her feet had taken her, stopping at the sound of her name to turn and see Fenrir leaning against one of the pillars in the welcoming hall, no longer dressed in the armor she'd fought him in before but instead a clean leather tunic, a wolf's head carved into the leather, as though anyone could forget his sigil.

She relaxed, forcing her body to soften, as she turned to smile at him, grateful for the training she'd received in keeping her face from showing just how she was feeling. At least when she consciously made an effort. The look Fenrir was giving her told her otherwise.

"Fenrir, you have fought alongside me and against me now, you don't have to call me a lady," she admonished, eager to get his attention focused elsewhere.

He offered a shrug as explanation. "It's your title, what you are. But as a favor to you I can simply call you Natasha."

She smirked, holding his gaze until he broke it and laughed. "Perhaps not my best ruse. I'll have to try harder to fool you."

"Much."

"Come sit with me? The library is the only place I've found that I can exist without being disturbed. It's as though these people are frightened of their books." He said, gesturing towards the library Natasha had seen only once when Dra'ace took them on a quick tour of his home. "And you look like you could do with a few minutes of being undisturbed."

"Doubt it's the books themselves that keep people away," she mused. She didn't bring up the fact that him talking to her would technically be considered a disruption, too thankful for the excuse to delay talking to Thor, and followed him inside, breathing in the familiar musk of old books and paper, of treated leather and book bindings. It might not have been as much her home as it was Loki's, but it would do.

It was a blessing, she found, to have someone to finally talk with who wouldn't treat her like a delicate flower the way the other courtiers who she kept company with would. Where they could compliment her humility and her prowess in beautifying the realm, Fenrir wasn't ashamed to tell her the more bawdy tales of Loki as they grew up together. It was a welcome distraction, his voice deep and suited for telling tales, breaking into small guffaws of laughter as he told her about Loki's plan to dress Thor up as a woman in order to reclaim Mjolnir from a giant who had stolen it. His gold eyes lit up as he recounted the story of Loki, intemperate and hot-headed as they all were in their young age, stealing a casket of elf wine from the kitchens, the pair of them sharing it before Loki stormed downstairs to where the others were having a feast to tell them off. He'd gotten in trouble for that one, Fenrir recounted with a toothy grin.

"I sat in the shadows trying not to laugh as he called them all out, his cheeks so red you'd have thought he'd rouged them up like a harlot from the lower city. He could hardly keep his damn feet as he crowed on and on about how unfair they all were for ignoring him, and when they tried to invite him to sit down he about swallowed his tongue." He said with a bark of laughter.

Natasha swapped stories of her own, small snippets of what she could remember of Earth growing up, while her feet propped up on the chair beside her, Fen taking noisy bites from a golden apple that resounded through the room as he listened to her talk about her mother, the young boys and girls she'd play with in the square when she could get out of doing her chores. The memories were touchy, she had to admit, but they brought a smile to Fenrir's face, and he'd take her silence as permission to launch into more stories of his own. Nat didn't mind it, gladdened by the camaraderie. Besides, the more he distracted her the less strained she felt about talking to Thor.

What she'd say to Aelyn when the woman found out Natasha had seen it all was a different matter entirely.

As though feeding off of Nat's thoughts, the pair she'd seen in the woods earlier that day walked in, Carissa's hair a little less tidy than usual, and the color high in Aelyn's cheeks. Not that it would've caught Nat's attention if she hadn't seen what the pair had done. She took a deep breath to slow the rapid beating of her heart, not wanting to give herself away, not until she had a plan, but already Fenrir was looking curiously over at her. His hearing must've been better than Loki's. Good man that he was he kept his silence as Aelyn moved to stand near Natasha, tipping his head in recognition of the blonde.

"Princess," he said, setting the apple core on the edge of the table and folding his hands in his lap. "How can we help you?"

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." Aelyn said, offering him a smile and her hand. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage, sir."

"Not a sir, princess. Fenrir." He replied. Nat couldn't miss the way Aelyn's hand trembled after that, how Carissa stiffened and her eyes went half an inch wider.

"Pleasure to meet you," Aelyn said without missing a beat, her smile strengthening as Fen pressed his lips to the back of her hand. So it wasn't just the warriors who knew about him. She wondered if the pair knew of his involvement with Odin's death, or if there was more that she needed to be on guard about. As it was Carissa was staring at her with a mix of surprise and shock, perhaps even a little respect. She would have to keep a closer eye on Fenrir, it seemed. A year of someone's life, that was his demand of the loser in the training circles. Curious.

"Natasha." Aelyn's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "I was wondering if I might speak with you. Alone." The princess turned her smile to the redhead, who watched from the corner of her eyes as Carissa's head whipped to stare at her mistress. The word meant so much more now, Nat thought as she nodded and patted Fenrir on the shoulder. The other two women went stiff at the gesture, but what did Nat have to fear? She doubted he'd be so keen to go back on his favor to her, and killing her would be far too easy. If he'd wanted her dead he'd had plenty of time with the pair of them alone to have done it.

With little else to say Aelyn tugged Nat away from Carissa and Fenrir, leaving her handmaiden looking less than thrilled at the prospect of sitting with the other man. Aelyn's hand wrapped around Natasha's wrist, and Nat couldn't help but wonder if she was taking her pulse, though the idea was ludicrous. She wasn't sure if they even knew about lie detection and discovering fraud in the body's reaction in Alfheim.

"How did you meet Fenrir?" Aelyn asked when they'd left the library, stepping down the halls. "He's certainly an interesting man." Their pace slowed considerably, as though Aelyn didn't want to be too conspicuous by walking any faster than they absolutely had to, and Nat was grateful for it she supposed, pulling her hand back and away from Aelyn's. She didn't stop her.

"Is he?" Natasha asked, feigning ignorance. It was almost too easy to get away with. "He and my husband know one another well."

"Yes, well they would." Aelyn said, Nat detecting a bitter, near sarcastic undertone that made her skin crawl. What the hell was that supposed to mean? "You know he had to do with the death of the Allfather, don't you?"

Natasha stiffened at that. "Yes, I'm aware."

"And the death of Odin triggered the end of days. What we are dealing with now? The very reason that Thor had to be forced to take the throne?"

"Are you looking to place blame for the situation that you're in, Aelyn?" Natasha asked, unable to help herself from firing back. It was her turn to grip the princess hard around the wrist, stopping her in her tracks just after Aelyn had led her into one of the side rooms. She was, admittedly, grateful for the privacy. No one else needed to witness this telling off. Her eyes bored into the shocked blue ones of the woman in front of her. She tightened her fingers slightly, reigning herself in to keep from bruising the girl.

"You don't know what the hell happened with the Allfather. Odin was nothing more than a coward who refused that his son get involved with the end of the world. You want to point a finger at someone deserving it, the real person who's behind you having to marry Thor? Thanos." She released her arm. "If it wasn't for him then you wouldn't be here. You and Carissa would be back on Alfheim and everything would be back to normal, but it's not. It's not Fenrir's fault, or Loki's, or Thor's. It's Thanos' for unleashing the Skrull on Midgard, and Odin's for not seeing reason and aiding the planet he swore to protect." Her voice had lowered to a hiss, her eyes narrowing in anger. "Now, would you care to run it by me again how any of this is Loki's fault?"

She didn't answer, and Nat deflated with the woman's silence, shaking her head. She hadn't meant to go off like that. "I'm sorry. It's not my place to yell at you." There was too much struggle and fighting between people as it was and she didn't need to be contributing to it.

"I don't want to marry Thor," Aelyn said in a forced hiss of her own, her head drooping as she pulled her arm away from Natasha. "I don't . . . I don't think I can love him, and I can't explain it but-."

Nat put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed it. Aelyn had tears in the corners of her eyes when she looked up. "I didn't mean what I said, I'm just so frustrated and-."

"I know," Natasha assured her, everything else in her mind clicking into place. "And what I told Carissa before it's . . . it's not true. I was dreading you coming here because I still love Thor. I love both of them, and we don't always get what we want. But if I can help you by keeping Thor," she said, lowering her voice so only Aelyn would be able to hear her, watching as the woman's eyes went wide and her lips parted in a small 'o' of surprise. "Then I will."

"You mean it?"

"I do."

Nat hadn't been expecting the woman to throw her arms around her, hugging her tight and muttering "thank you" over and over again until Nat wasn't even sure she was speaking the All Speak any longer. It brought a smile to her face either way, and she patted Aelyn's back before pulling away. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of voices coming towards the room that Aelyn had dragged them into. It was only then that Nat took a quick look around, noting the decanted amber liquor on the center of the table, two glasses already set up beside it, to the closet embedded on the right side of the room. She grabbed Aelyn by the wrist and tugged her into it, shutting the door. She wasn't sure what the room was set up for, but whatever it was she didn't want her presence to be known. Not just then. Her free hand went to Aelyn's mouth, covering it tight to keep her from doing anything but breathe through her nose as the door to the room opened, Dra'ace and Jerome stepping inside, their voices hushed until the door closed behind them.

"You're certain of these numbers?" Dra'ace asked, sounding livid and disgusted. "Bloody son of a bitch had his brother lie to me-."

"Yes, well you're not the only one angry," Jerome promised, and Nat watched through the crack of the closet door as he poured two glasses of the liquor, offering the first to Dra'ace. "And now Loki reportedly isn't doing well with the Disir, so where does that leave us? We're the only ones to bring a decent number of soldiers while he provides us with promises and more mouths to feed. Thor thinks he can simply act like Odin and demand the help of the nine realms? He's an imbecile."

"He certainly doesn't have his father's mind," Dra'ace admitted, a scowl etched on his face. "And we're to follow this runt into battle along with his monster of a brother. Norns, I'm grateful not to deal with him."

Natasha stiffened, feeling her heart ache, the pounding growing louder in her ears. Aelyn's eyes were wide and focused on her, her breathing having slowed and one of her hands tapping Nat's wrist. She still had her hand on the blonde's mouth, and with a nod of understanding she lowered her hand. Nat was still furious with these bastards, livid at their analysis of Thor's rule and what he was doing. Was she not more determined to finish hearing what it was they were saying she'd have jumped out of the closet to throttle the pair of them.

The way that Dra'ace was coughing, however, made her stay stock still where she stood. Dra'ace's face began to redden as he coughed harder, and the now empty glass dropped from his hands to the ground, shattering against the hard flooring. His hands clutched at his throat, clawing the skin while Jerome watched, unmoving. Aelyn's gasp was covered up by the sound of Vanaheim's king struggling to suck in breaths of fresh air, failing miserably in the process. It hardly took two minutes before his bloodshot eyes began to droop and his knees buckled. The thud resounded through the room, and Jerome's chuckle was light as he poured the amber liquid of his own glass back into the decanter, wiping the glass surface free from where he'd gripped it, setting it back in place on the table. Nat had to hold onto Aelyn as the woman shook, her eyes out of focus as she watched Jerome leave, the click of the door sending shivers across her body. Silence. No guards were called, Jerome hadn't even taken a second look at the body as he'd left. Not that he really had to, not when Dra'ace was about as dead as could be.

"Oh. Oh," Aelyn whispered, covering her mouth with her own palms, words muffled until they were too foreign to be understood. Nat's lips remained pursed, sure that her blood had thickened and stopped moving altogether. Dra'ace may not have been friend to her, but he had a family. Hell, he had armies and men who were sworn to fight. What would happen now?

"I don't-I don't understand," Aelyn had started to whisper as Nat brought them out of their hiding spot, stepping closer to examine the body as the princess turned away. "I don't understand, I don't understand."

"Your brother's an asshole," Natasha muttered. It wasn't hard to see, was it? What other sort of person would've poisoned an ally? A friend, even.

"No-a death of a royal-." Aelyn. took a shuddering, gaping breath that sucked the remnants of Nat's hope out of her. "The army won't march while his funeral rites are going on, and without a king to succeed him it's unlikely they'll march. At all."

She had to leave Aelyn in the room with the dead diplomat, not trusting the body to be alone for too long. Aelyn had begged her not to, tears spilling past her eyes as she grabbed at Nat's hands and tried to tug her closer, but they couldn't just do nothing, and Nat had the beginnings of a plan. She hoped. She walked, rather than ran as she wanted to, to the library, her heart lightening ever-so slightly to see Fenrir and Carissa both there. The handmaiden stood when she noticed that Aelyn wasn't with Nat, but when Nat shook her head and held up a hand to stop the woman's questions, her expression turned solemn. Fenrir, too, seemed to scent out the shift in the air.

"Everything alright Natasha?"

"Yes, of course. Can you both come with me? Aelyn and I have something we need to show you." She said, forcing herself to smile as though nothing was wrong. She didn't know what she could trust after what she'd seen, only trusting that at the very least Carissa wouldn't betray Aelyn, and Fenrir? Well, she'd taken him out once before, she'd do it again if she had to. Besides it was time for her to cash in on her favor.

A/N:

Alright-hope the update was worth the wait, and I'm not 100% sure when I'll get to update again what with a crap ton of projects and presentations and papers all coming up due near the very end of October, but once November gets here and NaNo starts it's all going to blessedly slow down once more. Fingers crossed, at least.
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I've got the next little segment all figured out so at least I know where I'm going, roughly, with this! Thanks again!