Chapter Eighteen

That morning Alessia woke sluggishly and with a bad taste in her mouth. She'd had dreams the night before, despite having drank more than her usual dose of Muspelian mead after Wanda and Natasha had visited her. Not dreams, nightmares. She swung her legs out of bed and stood up, immediately feeling the affects of all that alcohol. Her head spun as she ducked into her bathroom and wretched into the toilet. She'd skipped dinner last night, and nothing came up. Instead she just heaved painfully while her stomach cramped and twisted in her belly.

Perfect start to the day. Alessia thought as she stripped down to shower. Her body felt sweaty and grimy from the night's drunken and unpleasant sleep. She caught a glance at herself in the mirror before she stepped in the shower, and saw her red eyes, dark circles and dry lips. She would need some kind of miracle to be bright eyed and ready for the negotiation.

When she was finally dressed, her hair gently steaming as it dried against her head and shoulders, she went into the kitchen to find food. Even though her stomach turned at the thought of eating, she knew she had to atleast have toast if nothing else.

Bucky and Sam were already in the kitchen having eggs. Alessia tried not to gag at the smell of them as she trudged in and croaked "Morning."

"Woah, you look like shit." Sam said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Alessia said, shoving a bagel into the toaster.

When Sam and Bucky kept looking at her dubiously she sighed and said. "I had too much mead last night, alright? That shit is strong and ... I don't know, I felt like I needed it knowing what I have to do today."

Bucky nodded and kept eating his toast with scrambled eggs, but Sam gave Alessia a raised eyebrow. "So you got drunk?"

The bagels popped out of the toaster. "I think I'm entitled, given the circumstances." Alessia said irritably, and forced herself to take a bite of bagel. Her stomach protested, begged her not to chew and swallow, but she pressed on. This was not her first hangover.

"There's coffee," Bucky said helpfully. Alessia said "Thanks" around her bagel and poured herself a mug.

"There's whiskey in the cabinet." Sam said, in grudging tone. "Stark seems to have it in every kitchen in the building. You know, if you need it."

"Hmm, thanks." Alessia said. "But I don't know if it's strong enough to be hair of the dog when the dog is Muspelian mead. The bees who get the honey for that shit take it from the flowers of this plant-" Alessia was finally starting to perk up a bit as she explained "It's like.. Already a drug there. I think. Like, the honey itself will get you fucked up, even if it's not fermented. That's what Reemanaskel said, anyway."

"Cool," Sam said. Bucky nodded but his mouth was full. Alessia sighed and leaned against the counter. The negotiation wouldn't start until mid afternoon. She was going to be on edge for hours waiting for it.

The negotiation would take place on neutral ground, as decided upon by Reemanaskel & Surmayeth's emissaries a few days prior. The agreed upon location was one of the moons of Alfheim, the realm of elves and enchantment. The moon was mostly uninhabited, except for a few outreach posts that assisted galactic travelers from various other planets in the galaxy.

Alessia met Reemanaskel for departure at half past noon, in the training room she'd been trudging to every morning for the past week. She expected Clint to see her off, and probably Natasha too. She was not expecting the entire team to be waiting for her-plus Bucky and Scott.

Wanda was sitting on top of the pile of tumbling matts stacked against the wall, making her considerably higher up than everyone else. Vision was standing at the base of the tumbling matts, and Thor a few feet away from him, with his hair in a ponytail wearing a denim jacket. Tony had to look up from his phone to smile at Alessia when she came in. Even though they were inside he was wearing those yellow tinted sunglasses. Natasha was standing in between Clint and Steve, wearing a cardigan Alessia recognized as Clint's, and a slytherin tee shirt. Scott had been sitting on the bench by the weights, Sam was leaning against the wall beside the racks of weights, resistance bands and other workout equipment. Bucky was standing near Steve and Natasha with Buttercup in his arms, where she seemed to be drifting in and out of sleep.

Taken aback, Alessia didn't say anything at first.

"We thought we'd all see you off," Vision said, by way of explanation.

"I.. I can see that." Alessia said. A scattered chuckling filled the room.

Reemanaskel approached her with the transporter she would be wearing, and showed her the button to press. "I already have the meeting place and return co-ordinates in here. All you have to do is push the button." Alessia nodded and took the small device from him, fastening it to her belt. The dress she was wearing was a Muspelian design, and it made her feel all the more out of her element.

The elevator door at the far end of the room opened, and Loki was escorted in, flanked by four guards. His wrists were bound in wide metal cuffs, and he wasn't wearing the midguardian clothes Alessia had seen him in last. Instead he wore trousers and a long coat that more closely resembled the uniform Thor wore when training, except perhaps nicer. Alessia thought for a moment that maybe he was given nicer clothes by someone- his brother, probably- as a show of goodwill- until she remembered that for the negotiations everyone had to look nice.

It almost reminded her of when her grandparents used to insist the family go to church. They'd stuff her into some uncomfortable flouncy dress and make her sit still though the sermon. The church in her town only started a proper sunday school for the kids after Alessia's parents stopped going, so she had to listen to the adult sermon every week.

Yes, it was exactly like that. except that instead of listening to a southern preacher warn the congregation of the perils of homosexuality and premarital sex, she was going to listen to an actual heathen god vouch for her right to choosing the grounds on which she was slaughtered. Instead of wearing a dress with little pink flowers on it, she was wearing a traditional Muspelian gown of burgundy leskil, a fiber similar to silk, but, like most fabrics favored by Muspelians, resistant to flame. The collar was high up on her neck, and the tight sleeves tapered to points that ended above her middle fingers.

Loki's bonds were removed. He glared at the room at large, giving a snide nod at his brother, but saved a gentlemanly smile for Alessia.

"You look every part the Queen, your majesty." He said.

Tony, Steve and Clint all seemed to find this remark offensive, particularly Clint, whose glare towards Loki only intensified. Thor seemed unsurprised, but from across the room Natasha wagged her eyebrows at Alessia.

Alessia took a deep breath."Yeah, obviously."

Loki smirked, but seemed to like the answer. A quick glance in Natasha's direction confirmed that she'd said the right thing.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Clint asked Reemanaskel before they departed.

"It depends. It could be hours." Reemanaskel said. Alessia already knew that. She pulled her hands away from the teleporter on her hip, and cracked her knuckles. "I'll see you tonight." She said, forcing confidence into her voice.

"See you," came a chorus of several voices.

"Good luck," Clint said before giving her a brief hug.

"She'll be fine," Natasha said, smiling at Alessia. Alessia nodded back to her.

"We probably should go ahead and leave now," Alessia said, looking hesitantly at Reemanaskel. If they waited any longer they'd be late.

"You are correct, my lady." Reemanaskel replied.

"Hope it goes well."

"You'll be fine"

"Farewell,"

Alessia was barely able to distinguish the voices from one another as the world around her slowly started falling away.

The moon of Alfheim was not the way Alessia pictured it to be at all.

Maybe it was because, in her mind, all moons were like Midguard's: dry, dusty, grey, covered in craters, and surrounded by perpetual night. She had never thought about the fact that it could be daytime on the moon before. How the hell had that never occurred to her? And she never thought about a moon having water And the ability to sustain life. But this one did.

Even though the sky above was almost the same shade of blue that it would have been on Midguard, everything else about this planet was different.

The rocks on the bottom of the river bed that ran beside them were a murky red color, and the soil where it showed in the midst of the purple-black grass was the same shade of red. There were no trees, but semi transparent grey-green pillars grew around them like a forest. They reminded Alessia of jellyfish.

Alessia stood for a moment, completely unprepared for the unaccustomed sight, and watched the strange frog like creatures hop in & out of the running water.

"What do you think of it, your highness?"

Alessia looked over at Loki and realized that he had been watching her take in the surroundings with a strange look on his face. Alessia might have felt uncomfortable, or even irritated with him if she wasn't so awe struck.

"It's beautiful." She said, turning away from him, but not fast enough to catch the smile that elicited from Loki. A sincere smile. Heartmeltingly warm on that cold sharp face of his.

The negotiations were being held in a garden fifteen minutes from where they originally teleported. Reemanaskel explained that it was customary not to teleport directly into neutral ground. Alessia spent the walk over trying to psych herself up for the task. She was a queen. Rightful heir to the Muspelian throne. & she was going to get her way with this battle.

The garden was full of black foliage and more of the jellyfish plants, but they were manicured & set in a circle, surrounding a stone table & circular stone bench. It wasn't unlike a midgaurdian garden, really. There was even a fountain, except the water that ran through it was stained a burnt orange color that matched the ground.

The three of them settled onto the bench that encircled the table, Alessia in the middle, Reemanaskel on her left, and Loki on her right. Loki offered her a smile, and she was once again hit by how sincere he seemed. Why did he have to be like that? Couldn't he just be evil, like he was supposed to be? Instead he was acting like a prince.

He is a prince. He's the one whose going to be pleading your case, so just focus on that. Alessia said to herself firmly. She smiled back at him and he leaned over conspiratorially to whisper.

"I'm sure you're feeling nervous, princess, but I'm afraid you're going to have to do a little better to hide it. It's written on your face right now."

Alessia flushed and looked away, setting her eyes forward. "Don't worry," He continued, "I'm going to make sure things go our way."

Our. Alessia didn't know how to feel. She was irritated with Loki, but also glad he was here. So glad. Why hadn't Bucky seen her off earlier?

Alessia was ripped from that thought. Surmayath had arrived.

He came with only one companion, who was small only by comparison to the Muspelian royal. By human standards, he was quite average, perhaps even on the tall side, but for a Muspelian male, he was as short as Alessia had seen. Probably only clearing six feet by a hair's breath, the man was thin limbed and wearing a black robe with tight sleeves that emphasized how slim he was. It only served to make Surmayath, with his thick knotted muscular arms bulging against his black leather jacket, look even bigger and more formidable.

Alessia wanted to run and hide. Every breath Surmayath took seemed to ooze hatred. His eyes flashed at her, sending a pang of adrenaline straight to her heart. He sat down opposite her, and placed his hands on the stone table. Even his hands were bulging with what looked like too many muscles for his skin to hold. The knuckles looked mottled and uncomfortable.

Alessia tried to reel her emotions in. So far she had done her best to keep her face looking impassive, but the look Surmayath sent her after he sat down made her flinch. Only a little, but Surmayath must have seen it because he smirked at her.

Her hands, twisting nervously in her lap, were suddenly covered by something cool and gentle. Alessia glanced down and saw Loki's pale hand resting on top of hers. Without thinking, she immediately clasped it with both hands, and she felt him squeeze back reassuringly, even though he did not break his gaze from the enemies.

"So, Sinrutha, I see you've brought a friend." Surmayath eyed Loki with some mild interest.

"It is traditional to bring counsel, is it not?" Alessia said, trying to sound as regal as she could manage.

"And yet you've brought two. How interesting." Surmayath said. Alessia opened her mouth to defend herself, but Surmayath quickly dropped the subject.

"I assume you've considered the location on which you'd most like to die?" He growled, sneering as he stared into her eyes.

"Actually, my lady pleads substandard abilities." Loki said. "She requests to be allowed to choose a weapon, not a location."

Substandard? Who told him to say THAT? Alessia dropped Loki's hand & couldn't help but look offended. substandard? He could have chosen any word to use, and he picked that one?

Surmayath laughed. "Indeed, I suppose she would. But the rules are very clear. As the presenter she has right to pick the terrain, and as the acceptor I have right to pick the weapon. If you don't like that, I'm quite happy to pick both."

Loki tried again. "In most cases, yes, but," and here he pulled a scroll out of the chest of his tunic "I cite the battle of Gruniard and Balwig. Gruniard was a swordsman of considerable skill, & when he accepted the challenge to Malngang from Balwig, he let the younger, less experienced warrior choose the weapon with which they fought-"

"And he was slain by a Kaplaine Blade," Surmayath interrupted. "It is why in legend he is called Gruniard the foolish. And I may add that your reference is a folktale, a bedtime story for little ones, hardly the basis for a Malngang negotiation."

Unperturbed, Loki pressed on. "Then what about in more recent history, when King Srunatan, your grandfather, threw away all traditional laws and married Diamon, a commoner from Niflheim, who later became one of Muspelheims greatest queens?"

"And what of it?" Surmayath growled dangerously.

"Well, it shows that at times, casting off old traditions can be prosperous." Loki said. Alessia kept watching him out of the corner of her eye. Loki was better at hiding it than she was, but he was nervous. He was losing.

"Indeed, even someone so recent in your bloodline would agree-"

"That has no bearing on a Malngang!" Surmayath interrupted hotly. "Choose a location or I will choose it for you."

Alessia reached out and grasped Loki's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"If it's quite alright with you," Alessia said, staring evenly in Surmayath's eyes. "I'd like a word with my counsel in private."

Surmayath squinted at Alessia suspiciously, and even Loki and Reemanaskel gave her quizzical looks.

"Fine," Surmayath said finally. "But leave your teleporters here, for insurance."

Alessia obliged at once, unclipping the small black rectangle from her hip.

"No, what are you doing?" Loki whispered urgently. "We can't leave him alone with our only means of escape."

"We aren't." Alessia said, in even tones. "I just need to talk to you, Reemanaskel can stay here."

A look passed between Loki and Reemanaskel, & Loki submitted, placing his teleporter beside Alessia's on the table. Together they stepped back over the bench & walked outside the garden circle,behind a tall, dense black plant where they could whisper without being overheard.

"What is it?" Loki hissed.

"You're not going to be able to get me choice of weapon, are you?" Alessia whispered back. Loki's expression turned pained. "I'll convince him, I will, I have a few more references, I think I can get him to change his mind," Loki, consciously or not, had lifted his hands so that his palms were almost touching Alessia's upper arms, protectively. Alessia gently raised her hands to his wrists, resting her hands there, & he looked down, as surprised to see where his limbs had ended up.

"Tell me about your home planet."

"My home planet?" Loki asked. "Well, it's not too different from midgard actually, blue skies, deep oceans, hot summers, cold winters-"

"Not Asgard." Alessia clarified. "Tell me about Jotunheim. It's a realm of ice, isn't it?"

They arrived back at Stark tower about two hours after they left. Reemanaskel teleported them onto the roof first, and then they took an elevator down to the level where everyone was waiting for them. Alessia stepped off and was immediately accosted by Thor.

"How did it go?" He asked eagerly. Alessia grinned, and Thor's face lit up, behind him, the room at large seemed to breath a sigh of relief. "Then my brother was able to convince him?" Thor went on as Alessia walked past him into the room. Reemanaskel and Loki followed. Loki wore a dogged, guilty look as Alessia announced brightly to the room:

"On, the contrary, I think we've come up with a better strategy."

Silence. Alessia noticed that this time Bucky had made it up with out Buttercup. For some reason she couldn't make herself look him, or anyone else, in the eye. But she could tell by glancing over everyone's faces that this news was not being taken as she'd hoped.

"You didn't get to pick the weapon?" Natasha asked. She glanced from Alessia to Loki, "You mean all that time and research, and you didn't manage it? I thought you were supposed to have a silver tongue?"

"What weapon will you be fighting with, then?" Clint asked.

"Broadsword." Alessia said. She tried to sound casual about it, but she felt her mouth get dry and she could see the way Clint's shoulders slumped.

"What's your strategy then?" Steve asked. He was sitting next to Clint at the bar. Natasha was sitting between Bucky and Scott on the couch and Sam was leaning on the other side of the breakfast bar, watching on his feet. Thor appeared to have leapt up from the vacant spot on Scott's other side when the door opened. Alessia noted that Wanda was not present.

"Well, the location we agreed upon," Alessia said, "Is um- no don't tell me- the Bjorntyran." Her mouth felt full of consonants as she said it. Thor was the only person who gave any form of recognition at the word.

"It's a lake of ice on Jotunheim." He explained, his brow furrowed, "Is it because you're more used to the cold than he is?"

"No," Clint answered for Alessia, "It's because she's been ice skating since she was old enough to tie the laces."

Alessia nodded, feeling a bit pleased with herself. While Surmayath slipped and slid, she would be able to comfortably maneuver the ice. Then why did Clint still look so worried?

"You've never even held a broadsword before, Alessia." he said.

"Well, no." Alessia agreed hesitantly. She clasped her hands together nervously. "Do you know how to use one, Thor?" Clint continued, and Alessia realized another giant problem she'd overlooked. Most of her teachers didn't know how to use one, either.

"I have some basic training." Thor said doubtfully.

"I am skilled with a broadsword," Reemanaskel interjected, "But I am worried that my instruction would be ill fitted for someone facing an opponent so much stronger and larger than them."

Alessia cracked her knuckles nervously.

"What about you?" She asked, turning to Loki.

He gave her a sad pained look. "My expertise has always been in mastering illusions. My skill with a broadsword is no better than my brother's."

"But I know someone who can teach you!" Thor said suddenly. "Someone who's used to facing opponents bigger and stronger than they are."

He and Loki shared a look. "It's a good idea." Loki agreed, almost sounding as if he wished he had thought of it. Thor grinned and clapped his hands. "I shall send the summons immediately!." He strolled out of the room looking rather pleased with himself. Alessia felt slightly better until she saw the look Clint and Natasha were giving each other.

"Well, it was the only thing I could think of to do!" Alessia snapped. "And besides, it isn't my fault."

"Well, no, of course it isn't" Natasha said, before shooting Loki a loathsome glance.

"And it's not his fault either!" Alessia snapped, growing irritated. "He tried his best, okay?"

Natasha gave Alessia a strange look, but Alessia crossed her arms and looked away from the staring eyes of the rest of the room. "Whatever." She muttered as she strode out of the room. She let the door swing shut behind her. She didn't want to have to deal with this. She wasn't going to listen to them tell her how badly she'd fucked up and then blame it on Loki. It had been her idea. And she had thought it was a pretty good one up until she'd had to say it out loud. She was well on her way to being a shitty queen. Or just dead.

"Oh, please, you can put me back in my cell in five minutes, can't you? I just want to talk to her."

Alessia whirled around, her skirts fluttering around her. Loki had followed her out, and Steve had caught up with him ready to escort him back down.

Steve gave him an irritated look, but didn't say anything just cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Alessia as if to say "Do you want me to get him out of here?"

"It's fine." Alessia said in a dull monotone. "Let him say what he needs to say."

Steve gave Loki a suspicious look, but turned back to the door saying "Five minutes."

When the door had shut, Alessia stood, arms crossed, eyebrow cocked, watching Loki.

"I'm sorry." He said. Alessia uncrossed her arms. "It is my fault. Entirely. The Malngang was my idea in the first place and if I hadn't-"

"Would you quit?" Alessia cut in wearily. "I'm sick of it, okay? I'm the one who chose to run off and offer myself up to Surmayath, I'm the one who challenged him to a Malngang, and I'm the one who told you to stop the negotiations and pick a spot on Jotunheim. Nobody else. If I'm going to be a Queen I have to make my own decisions and stand by them. I'm sick of everyone acting like they can just blame you for everything. You saved our lives when you told me about the Malngang. So fuck them okay? You've nothing to apologize for."

She spat it out heatedly. Her fists clenched and unclenched with her bottled up rage. It was unfair to act like Alessia's mistakes were the work of some conniving third party. Like she didn't even have the autonomy to mess things up for herself.

Loki looked taken aback. For a moment he didn't say anything.

"Do you mean that?" He asked.

"Of course I do." She snapped irritably. "What would I get out of lying about it?"

Loki smiled. Icey blue eyes lighting up in his pale face. "You're going to be an amazing queen, Sinrutha." He said, sweeping into an elegant bow. Alessia bristled at her birth name. She turned around, not staying to watch him rise back up.

"Yeah, if I live that long."