Loki dragged his feet through the door of their chambers, dropping his bag onto a desk. Sorrow came into the room, having heard him come in. She glared at him, her eyes flitting to the bag on the floor, his rain drenched armor dripping water into a small puddle. "Let me guess. You are going to let me clean up this big mess."

Loki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are you still going on about that? That happened a week ago, Sorrow. Please drop it."

Sorrow had dark rings under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept at all in the past week that he had been gone. Usually she greeted him with a smile, embraced him, and asked him about his latest adventures. But not this time. This time, he could hear Hela crying in the background, saw that the kitchen was a mess, which was unusual as she couldn't stand anything being messy. "Speaking of a week ago, where were you this time? Alfheim? Vanaheim? Some other foreign land where they need you more than I do?"

Loki growled in frustration. "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know! It would be nice to have you around now and then to at least help! Hela has been screaming and crying for the past four days straight!"

Loki picked up the bag he had dropped on the floor, exaggerating it as much as possible. "There. I am helping."

Sorrow rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."

"As far as I am concerned, you wanted me to pick up my bag and not leave it on the floor." Loki pushed past her and set the bag on his desk dumping out all the documents he had brought.

"Why can't you stay at home for more than a few days?" She asked.

Loki ground his jaw in irritation. "I am a prince, Sorrow. I know you didn't expect it, but I have royal duties. Like diplomacy, so that we aren't invaded by elves or giants who want to burn and plunder their black guts out."

"I know what your royal duties are! Why do you have to treat me like I'm simple?" Sorrow snapped.

Loki ran a hand through his hair. "Because you ask questions with the most obvious answers! And I'm not treating you as though I think you're simple! You ask me why I can't stay home, I tell you it is because I have responsibilities, and you act as though I've insulted you!"

"I do not! It would be nice to have you home more often is all I was saying." Sorrow got a towel and started wiping up the rain water.

"You sure don't act like it." Loki grumbled.

Sorrow glared at him. "You don't seem particularly happy to see me either."

"I would be if you didn't snap at me as soon as I walk through the door. Do you know how hard it is to negotiate with dwarves? And then to come home and have to appease you."

"Appease me? Don't treat me like I'm another one of your royal duties!"

The bickering escalated until Sorrow finally stormed off to Hela's room, picking up the screaming infant and bouncing her gently in her arms, trying to calm the baby down. She heard the door to their bedchambers slam shut. She groaned in frustration, patting Hela's back as she continued to scream into her mother's ear.

An hour later, Hela was finally asleep. Sorrow set her gently in her crib, making sure she had a clean diaper, before wandering out into the living room. Loki's documents were in a big pile on his desk, some on the floor. There was food splattered all over the floor from Hela's fit, dirty pots and pans from cooking, several different bottles of milk lining the counters, and her toys spewn throughout the dining room into the living room.

Sorrow had figured out the Hela could teleport at random when she got too excited or happy. She would be in her crib one moment, in the kitchen the next, then half way down the hall the next moment after. Sorrow sighed as she saw an even bigger mess on the kitchen table from her effort to show Jane how to cook sauce earlier that day.

She sighed, feeling her head pound with a headache. She hadn't slept at all because of Hela. She had all sorts of tricks up her sleeve. She wondered if the baby got it from Loki or from being the Goddess of death, but she never slept. She could stay awake for hours, and was the most temperamental child she had ever had to deal with. She was happy, then she was angry, then she was content to sit and stare at the wall.

Sorrow started picking up, wiping up the mess on the floor, the extra sauce on the table and counters. She wiped off the counters, swept, mopped, and then started doing dishes, scrubbing the dried bits of food stuck to the bottom of each pan or plate. Then, she dried the dishes, putting them away and starting on the baby bottles. She washed each one out, dumping old milk down the drain. She picked up the various toys that scattered the floor and put them in a basket with the rest of Hela's playthings. Lastly, she straightened Loki's desk, putting his papers into a neat pile and cleaning up the water from his bag.

As soon as she sat down, having checked over her work, she was about to fall asleep when Hela started crying again. Sorrow's heart sank in her chest as she stood up, dragging her feet into the baby's room, picking her up, and sitting in the rocking chair. Hela's bright blue eyes gazed up at Sorrow, tears ceasing as she watched her mother's tired face intently. She started fussing a little, but quieted down as soon as she saw the necklace around her mother's neck. She smiled, grabbing for it with her chubby little hands.

Sorrow took her small hand away from the necklace. "You can't have that. No. You'll choke on it." She said with a smile, but weariness took the smile away quickly. Hela started crying again, forcing Sorrow to stand up and start bouncing her gently. "Please go to sleep." She whispered over and over into the infant's ear.

Hela started to calm down, hearing her mother's voice. After a while, she had gotten quiet, so Sorrow started to put her back in the crib. Hela's eyes opened again, an upset whine suggesting a huge crying fit if she left. Sorrow groaned. "Please, Hela. Sleep. Sleep sounds good, doesn't it?" She said gently, trying to get her to fall asleep.

Hela began crying again. Sorrow picked her up, cradling the baby in her arms. She bounced her gently and began singing softly.

"Whenever I hear the song of a bird,

Or look at the blue, blue sky;

Whenever I feel the rain on my face,

Or the wind as it rushes by'

Whenever I touch a velvet rose,

Or walk by a lilac tree

I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world

That is just for both you and me."

Hela was fast asleep, her eyes having begun to droop at the beginning of the lullaby. Sorrow placed her gently in the crib once more, tucking a light blanket around her chubby little legs and blowing out the candle that rested on the dresser. She slowly, ever so carefully, tiptoed out of the room, making sure that the door stayed open in case she woke up and started crying again.

She tried the handle to their bedchambers, having expected them to be locked, and found them open. She slowly turned the handle, not sure if Loki was asleep. When she opened the door to their bedchambers, the warm glow of a candle greeted her. Loki was sitting on the bed, a few papers spread out, his head in his hands.

She closed the door behind her. Loki didn't look up yet, which meant he was so distracted he hadn't even heard her. She knew she needed to apologize. It wasn't his fault she was so frustrated. She sat next to him on the bed, making sure to not sit on any of his papers. He finally looked at her, pinching the bridge of his nose. There were dark circles under his eyes, his skin paler than normal. He had changed into his sleeping pants, preferring not to wear a shirt while he slept.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you the way I did. It was unfair of me." Sorrow said softly.

Loki nodded slowly. "I must apologize for retaliating. I know Hela can be a handful."

Sorrow leaned her head on his bare shoulder and Loki wrapped a hand around her waist. He smiled, kissing the corner of her mouth before he went back to staring into space, his mind heavy. "What's on your mind?" She asked.

Loki sighed, releasing her and picking up all the papers on the bed, putting them in a neat stack on his nightstand. "I knew the old king of the dwarves. I was in good terms with him and had established trust between his kingdom and Asgard. We were good friends, I usually am with most of the monarchs of the nine realms. But a couple of months ago, his eldest son staged a takeover and killed him. The son is unwilling to negotiate with Asgard, and demands that we return all of the dwarven artifacts we Asgardians have 'stolen'. Including Mjolnir. Or else, he will unite with the dark elves and go to war with Asgard, making certain that the dwarves of Nidavellir never again make weapons for Asgard or any of her allies."

Sorrow took Loki's hand and made him sit next to her on the bed. "And I'm guessing Thor doesn't want to give Mjolnir back?"

Loki chuckled bitterly. "Oh, he almost gave Mjolnir back… to the dwarven prime minister's face. I had to stop Thor before he single handedly began a war over a hammer."

Sorrow blew out the candle and curled up under the blankets, Loki joining her. "What are you thinking about doing?" She asked.

Loki ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. The new king is adamant about getting Mjolnir back, along with Gungnir and other key Asgardian weapons. I cannot agree, but to start a war with the dark elves and dwarves… it would forever destroy Asgard's relationship we had with them. We would have no dwarven made weapons, the strongest in the realm."

Sorrow's blue eyes flitted around the ceiling, pondering what she could say. "Is there another heir? An heir that was supposed to be king instead of the son that overthrew the king?"

Loki was quiet for a moment. "There are several. But to stage another coop could upset the people too much. To lose two kings in just a few months. The son's collaborators would surely pin this on us and start a war without any options to stop it. It's too risky."

"Isn't this all?" Sorrow asked. "Do you know why the son is doing this?"

"He claims it is because Asgard does not give the 'Mighty Dwarves of Nidavellir' enough credit, that we take them for grant and use them to our advantage. Dwarves are extremely prideful creatures." Loki said.

Sorrow put a hand on Loki's chest, over his heart. "Sounds like someone I know." She teased.

Loki smirked. "I don't know what you mean by that. And besides, if you think I am prideful, quadruple it and shove it into a midget. That's what we're dealing with."

"Have you tried negotiating with them? Offering compensation?"

Loki shook his head. "No. That would only encourage them. Soon they would find any way to try and gain compensation. It would run us to the ground."

"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" Sorrow asked.

Loki hummed in response. "Everything I can think of, that is. Today, the son refused to negotiate anything with me. He says I am too tricky."

Sorrow laughed. "You? Too tricky?"

"Yes. He says he will only talk with someone completely honest and wise, noble of heart as an Asgardian should be. Not some spoiled royal who is brash and stupid, or can weave lies out of thin air. Where would you find someone like that? Especially in Asgard. Thor is brash, I am tricky, none of the Warriors Three are sharp enough in politics to do anything, and Sif is the same as the warriors three. Jane is a former Midgardian who believes in science and would most likely offend the dwarves as they believe in magic. None of the councilman are honest, wise, or noble of heart. They are all idiots. Frigga and Odin are both in Valhalla, so they cannot be of any help…" Loki suddenly stopped, his eyes going wide. He sat up in bed quickly, his gaze fixed on her.

"What?" Sorrow asked, sitting up as well.

"Someone who is completely honest, wise, noble of heart. Someone who is the very opposite of me and almost every Asgardian. Someone who is kind beyond reason, yet fair."

"I'm not following, Loki. Who?" Sorrow asked.

"You." Loki whispered.

Sorrow flushed. "What? I'm not… I know nothing of politics, Loki."

"No, but you are smart. You are as smart as I am. It would take very little for you to learn. The new king thinks he has baffled us because there are only a rare few in all of Asgard who are actually noble and honest and wise, and so on."

"I think you are seeing things in me that are only partially there." Sorrow said, lying back down, pulling the blanket over her shoulder. "Now let's get some sleep."

Loki laid down, pulling the blanket over himself and resting an arm on her waist, cuddling up next to her, burying his face in her hair. How could she not see it? How kind she was, how honest and noble of heart she was. How wise she was. Not in the ways of the world, but in the ways of the heart. She was passionate about treating others with love. She woke early every morning to bake bread for the slaves. Sometimes it was muffins, other times it was fruit she had grown at her mother's house. And, occasionally, it was something sweet.

Loki kissed her neck. "I love you."

"I love you too." Sorrow whispered sleepily.

Not even a minute later, Hela started crying. Sorrow sighed, the dark circles under her eyes seeming to get darker as she slowly sat up, pulling the blanket off her legs and getting out of bed.

Loki grabbed her arm gently. "No, I will get her. You sleep. You have lost enough sleep already." Sorrow laid back down and buried herself under the covers. Loki placed a lingering kiss on her shoulder before getting out of bed and walking into the dark hallway towards Hela's room.