I checked in on Loki two days later, having given strict instructions via Thor to the staff to make sure that Loki never had need to leave his chambers. I wanted to be absolutely certain that Loki had all the rest he could get in order to reclaim his strength. He would, of course, be required to make an appearance at the celebrations on Saturday night when Thor made the official announcement of Loki's accomplishments, but until then, I was determined that he should be well cared for. My knuckles only just brushed against the wood when the handle clicked and the door swung open. I blinked in surprise, looking over at Loki sitting up in his bed with sheafs of parchment spread around him. "Did you just magic this door?" I demanded sharply. Loki shook his head, gazing at me placidly.
"A permanent enchantment."
"Why does the door open for me, but not for Thor?"
"I trust you more than Thor. Now, what can I do for you, Ellie?"
"Nothing," I answered, stepping inside and looking Loki over closely. "I just came to check on you." Loki sighed exasperatedly, looking down to the document in his hands.

"I haven't left my rooms; I am eating, I am sleeping and I am doing what I can from here. I know that if I wasn't, the servants would report it to Thor, who would report it to you, and you would hunt me down and pester me to see sense. As I would rather avoid all the hassle, I thought it best to remain here until the party. Was there anything else?" I watched as Loki shifted through his papers, keeping his eyes down.
"No," I replied softly. "Nothing else." Loki looked up at me and gave me a distracted smile.
"Good day, Ellie."
"Goodbye, Loki." I left the room, shutting the door behind myself. As I was walking down the corridor, a voice made me pause.
"Hey, Kid!" I turned and smiled as Clint and Natasha caught up to me.
"Hey, Guys," I greeted softly.
"What's wrong?" Natasha wondered. "You don't seem as cheerful as you usually are."

I shook my head, smiling weakly. "I'm fine. I've just been checking in on Loki, but I think he's become quite impatient with me. I don't think he wants me around for a while, which is fine by me. Honestly, I could use a break. I'll have a word with Thor, let him know I'm not looking in anymore, but I am quite ready to wash my hands of it all until the party."
"You know, everyone can see that Loki cares about you, El. If you talk to him, I'm sure he'd be nicer to you."
"Talk about what, Tasha?" I questioned, confused.
"If he hurt you…"
"It wouldn't be the first time," I interrupted with a wry smirk, shrugging and stretching to pop my shoulders. "I have no desire to live in Loki's pocket; if he's had enough of me, so be it. He can't hurt me nearly as much as you seem to think he can."

"So what are you going to do now, then?" Clint wondered, slinging his arm over my shoulders as we walked.
"I am going to check on the rest of my mates, make sure none are suffering PTSD and if they aren't, I'm going to hide away from everyone until the party."
"Are you coping, Kid? I know we all rely on you pretty heavily."
"Yeah, I'm fine, Clint. I'm just tired. But I can set that aside if need be, so if neither of you need me, I'm going to go find Bucky."
"He'll be out in the gardens behind the palace somewhere," Natasha informed me. "He's been spending a lot of time there."
"Thanks, Tasha. I'll see you guys later." Clint gave me a quick kiss on my scalp and let his arm slide away from me as I went off to find Bucky.

Bucky was in the garden where Steve had taken me to escape from everyone for a while. I approached and stood behind him silently, waiting patiently. I knew he would speak when he was ready. "I was a nice man, once," he announced quietly, staring at the faintly stirring willow fronds. "I fought bullies with Steve, went to war for my country's freedom… I was supposed to die for my best friend, Ellie. This was never meant to happen. I was never meant to happen."
"I take it that you don't believe in destiny, then," I sighed, leaning against his side lazily. Bucky glanced at me briefly, face as impassive as usual.
"I don't know. Do you?" I tilted my head, looking up at the light filtering through the leaves.
"I don't care," I decided after a moment's thought. "I'm Catholic, so I believe there's a God and a plan and what have you, but nothing ever really goes to plan in the end, and we were given free will, sooo… Whether fate exists or not, I am what I am, and I am where I am, and that's all that really matters to me. I don't think too deeply on what could have been, or what should have been. I am, and that is enough."

I saw Bucky look down at me from the corner of my eye and turned my face to his, smiling serenely. "I am enough," he murmured. I curled my arm through his, squeezing affectionately.
"You are absolutely enough, Bucky. Natasha and Clint have told me that you were a brilliant guard in the battle. I understand that you were the one who got Clint to safety when he was wounded." Bucky nodded wordlessly, staring at me. "Thank you for that. You did well, Bucky. You are a good man; trust me. I know bad when I find it."
"What about Loki?" Bucky challenged.
"Loki is not a bad man, Bucky. He was damaged and fell to cruel influences. You are not unalike, you know."

"Loki is widely disliked."
"Loki is severely misunderstood. Knowing that people don't trust him makes him bitter, Bucky. You aren't bitter, and the Avengers do like you. And I am extremely fond of you, you know." Bucky smiled slightly, bowing his head.
"I know." We fell into a peaceful silence, watching the light play across the branches. "You are really easy to talk to," Bucky remarked eventually.
"Thank you; I'm glad you feel that way, Buck. I like talking with you; I enjoy your company."
"Do you?" Bucky wondered, looking down at me sceptically.
"Would I seek you out otherwise?" Bucky smiled faintly again.

"Alright, I see your point… Steve mentioned that you had a nightmare about him two nights ago." I sighed, scratching my scalp.
"Yes; you and Loki were there, too. It's only because I was worried about you, but you seem to be reasonably well. How are you feeling, anyway?"
"I'm fine, Ellie. Better, now that we've talked."
"Aww, you're a sweetie," I cooed, nuzzling into his arm affectionately. Bucky snorted, placing his metal hand gently on my head and rubbing softly.
"Do you have a dress for the party yet?" I looked up at Bucky in horror.
"Well, there goes my escape plan…"

I flew into my room in a panic. "Danni?! Danni, are you around?!"
"Of course, Ellie," the maid responded, appearing in the doorway with an anxious expression on her face. "What is wrong? Are you ill?"
"No! It's much worse! There's going to be a massive celebratory party, I'm the guest of both Thor and Loki, and I haven't even thought about a dress! What am I going to wear?! What am I going to do?! It's only one day away!" Danni giggled and I stared at her in astonishment. "What is so funny?!" I demanded.

"Ellie, both the princes made sure that you would have something to wear for exactly this reason." I blinked at her, panic subsiding in the wake of utter befuddlement.
"What reason?" I asked at my usual volume.
"You would be too busy watching over your friends and too modest to consider your own appearance, so they both made sure that the palace tailors had a gown for you. And Prince Thor has given you jewellery, too. Would you like to see what you will be wearing to the ball now? I have been waiting for you to wonder." Danni was looking at me with an excited expectation and I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face with a nod.
"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Danni." Danira beamed at me and bounced over to the fancy old wardrobe in the corner of the room that I never thought about and threw open the doors. I gasped…

I could hear the sounds of a crowd as I walked along the corridors of the nobles' wing towards the room that led into the main hall. My hair was pulled back with the top tucked into a bun on the back of my skull and the bottom left to trail down my back in its loose, natural curls. I was wearing a burnt orange dress with a flowing skirt, long sleeves and a shallow cowl neck that glittered in the light. The jewellery Thor had found for me was a silver filigree comb for my hair, a silver drop on a matching chain and round, silver dangly earrings, all quite simple, which suited me. My eyes were shadowed with a mahogany brown and my lips were a natural pink colour.

When I arrived in the antechamber, the others were already gathered, minus Thor and Loki. I exchanged my affectionate greetings with everyone and we waited until the two Asgardians arrived. Thor greeted us all enthusiastically, paying particular attention to Jane in her silver-white gown. I kept my place near the wall, observing everyone with caring amusement as they socialised before we had to make our appearances in the main hall with everyone else. A stillness in the room caught my focus and I looked over to meet Loki's unwavering gaze. He smirked, inclining his head, and I smiled, fluttering my fingers at him in a subtle wave. The hall doors were opened and we all filed into the room to cheers and applause. I enjoyed the festive atmosphere as I wandered through the swirling crowds and Thor, Loki, Jane, Sif, the Three and the Avengers sat at the table on the raised dais before the throne, occasionally mingling, but always returning to their places of honour. I preferred to blend into the crowds, listening to the conversations in the room and waiting for the perfect moment to make my play.

I was near a group of noble Asgardian women, replenishing my tea from the drink table, when I heard one of them say, "Loki does not look well. And Prince Thor seems quite concerned by it." I moved closer to the group, looking up at the brothers as Thor tried to offer Loki some food and he refused it with a languid flourish of his hand, looking down at his still full wine glass.
"Do you think he's sick?" Another woman wondered.
"He is," I confirmed, startling the girls. The turned to stare at me as I kept my gaze trained on Loki.
"Lady Ellie," one woman exclaimed quietly.
"It is not contagious or anything," I assured them distractedly, waving my hand dismissively. "He's just burnt himself out because he was too concerned with the fate of Asgard to look after himself."
"Burnt out?" a younger woman prompted hesitantly after a pause.

"It was Loki who devised the strategy that won us the war after all his attempts at diplomacy were met with hostility. When he was wounded saving my life, he refused to rest long enough for his injuries to heal because he wanted to help care for the displaced and rebuild their homes. He was using his magic to assist the reconstruction, as well as overseeing the planning, building and supply of the shelters. But because he didn't give himself enough time, his wounds reopened, and instead of seeking help and allowing himself to rest, he used his magic to hold himself together until his energy failed and he collapsed. He's been dealing with official documents from his room for the past week now, even during his forced recuperation. Loki is extremely dedicated to the good of Asgard… But I probably shouldn't have mentioned it," I remarked coyly, smiling at my listeners bashfully. "Ignore me. Have a lovely night." I bobbed a polite curtsey and slipped away to watch from a discreet distance.

The group of women started whispering amongst themselves as two others joined them before one by one they branched off and started quiet conversations with others in the room. I smirked in satisfaction, slowly making my way along the outskirts of the room towards the head table and standing in the shadows of the drapes behind them. I watched as the murmurs spread through the room, interspersed with glances at Loki, so that eventually he noticed and frowned slightly in confusion. Fandral, who had been circulating through the crowd, now joined Thor and Loki. "They're all talking about what happened with Loki, in the battle and afterwards."
"But how would they know?" Thor wondered, shaking his head in befuddlement. "I didn't tell anyone, and you Three or Sif didn't mention anything."
"We haven't," Fandral agreed.
"None of the Avengers have said anything, have they, Captain?"
"I doubt it; we haven't done much socialising here," Steve replied from his place at Thor's left. "Anyway, why would we?"

"It was Ellie," Loki announced suddenly, eyes scanning the crowd intently. "Ellie told them."
"I happened to mention it to a small group of women, yes," I confirmed, stepping out from my shelter to stand behind Loki's shoulder. He started slightly, looking up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Just watch; gossip will be much more effective in garnering you favour with the people than any number of dry, official speeches. The people like to think that they knew something important before they were supposed to; it makes them feel clever. They'll be more inclined to feel good about your accomplishments and sacrifices if they are already feeling good about themselves."
"You've put a lot of thought into this," Loki commented pensively. I nodded, laying my hand on the back of his chair casually and looking out over the crowd.
"Of course. I want you to succeed, Loki. I am always thinking of ways to help you." Loki smirked, lifting his hand to cover mine briefly and turning his gaze to the room.

"Well, I suppose I should make it official, now that everyone already knows," Thor sighed, standing. Silence spread through the room as I took the seat beside Loki. "It seems that most of you are already aware of my brother's accomplishments and sacrifices on your behalf, but I will elaborate. Loki attempted to end our disputes with our enemies through negotiation, but his efforts were met with hostility and we were attacked on our last diplomatic mission. When that failed, it was Loki who planned our strategy for defending Asgard, protecting our civilians and vanquishing our enemies with minimal casualties. During the mission to destroy enemy leadership, Loki was gravely wounded saving Lady Ellie, who later went on to finish the mission and blew up the enemies' command ships. It was weeks before we knew that Loki would survive his injuries, and then he was almost immediately working on sheltering the displaced and rebuilding their homes. However, in his eagerness to assist, Loki neglected to give himself enough time to recover from his injuries and fell gravely ill. Even during his forced recovery, he was overseeing the official documents relating to the shelters and reconstructions. And I believe that dedication to Asgard deserves recognition."

Thor raised his goblet and cheers erupted through the hall. Loki smirked and bowed his head in polite acknowledgement of their praise. When the cheering faded, Thor placed his goblet on the table again with a sigh. "You all know that I refused the throne when Odin offered it to me after the Convergence. It is my intention to renounce my claim again, but in so doing, the throne would pass to my brother, Loki. Given all of his accomplishments and sacrifices, made on your behalf as befitting a ruler, I believe that this would be the best course of action, as my brother is willing to take on the responsibility of being your king. We put the decision to you, the people of Asgard. Will you accept Loki as your ruler?" I held my breath in the pause that followed, looking around intently before a clap echoed in the vast hall. Soon, that single clap was joined by another, and another, until the room was once again full of clapping.

Thor beamed in joy and relief, looking down at Loki affectionately as he looked out across the room with wide eyes, the only indication of his shock at being accepted by the people of Asgard as their new king. I smiled contentedly, laying my hand over his knee under the table. Loki surreptitiously covered my hand with his, tucking his fingers into my palm and squeezing gently. "We shall hold the coronation as soon as possible," Thor announced before seating himself and gripping Loki's shoulder, shaking him in a brotherly manner. Loki smiled at him with genuine warmth, returning his brother's grip with his own, making Thor laugh with uncontained happiness. Loki huffed a gentle laugh in response, looking out across the room again and squeezing my hand again.