Sorceress of the trees: glad you are behind Cephera's new position. :)

Doctor Loki love: oh you're going to love the chapter 68. :p

Max is a chick name: I am happy I exceeded your expectation regarding the wedding. This makes me smile.

Kat snowstorm: interesting is a good word. I like this word. Hehe. I normally read my stuff before bed too. I also write my chapters before bed. Lol

Sydney loves fiction: we missed you. And when I say we I mean myself and my friend who listens to my never ending gab about this fic and my ideas and my wonderful reviewers. Happy all is well in your life once more. Glad you enjoyed all the chapters you missed. More plot to come! Lots of ideas stewing for the future of this story still working out a few kinks for my end game but so far everything is on track and more!

poodles warriors: I almost missed your review! SorryLoins always hard to tell how Loki will be with anything. Lol

Chapter 67: SHIELD

The atmosphere at the Byfrost was tense. Cephera was dressed in a Midgardian style dress that reached her ankles as per Loki's request. Her hair was pinned up neatly. Loki had escorted her there behind Thor. Her leaving for earth like this was not pleasing to him in anyway. And knowing the people she would be dealing with made it that much more frustrating.

He remembered the conversation from two weeks ago well.

{ "Loki." Cephera said after she had placed the children to bed. He looked up from the book he had been scrutinizing. He knew the look on her face immediately. She was about to tell him something she was nervous to speak of. When she had his attention she hadn't waited for him to respond before she spoke again. "I had a meeting with your father today." She was fiddling with the end of her dress. This was not a good sign.

"And?" He urged her on.

"He's appointed me an important position." She averted her eyes a second before returning them to him again. "He's made me an Ambassador of Asgard, for negotiations and understanding between Midgard and here." She finally said it and her breath caught near the end.

Loki felt the bubble of unrest in his stomach. "Why you?" He asked as calmly as possible.

"Because of the speech I delivered to him the day I asked him if the Avengers could attend the wedding. My dedication to the cause impressed him." Loki rubbed his temple as she spoke.

"I assume this means visits to Midgard." She nodded. "Thor will be with you?" He asked but he knew the answer. Thor was not her babysitter.

"Only the first trip. Afterward it's just me."

"Why can Thor not be this go between for our realms?" Loki growled. He knew Thor already visited earth often.

"Because Thor has duties here. His dedication and loyalty are for Asgard first." She replied calmly.

"You have duties here as well. You have two small children who need their mother. What if something should happen to you?" He could here his outright defiance in his own tone.

"Loki. I am not a child. It's time for everyone around me to stop trying to protect me from all the bad things out there. I want to fight for the things I believe in. I want my children to know I was a strong woman. I want to prove to myself I can handle this." Loki growled and turned to look away. He felt her soft hand touch his face and she turned him back to her. "I need you. I need you to guide me and prepare me for something's I may not expect or understand. I want someone to come home to that I can speak to, who will be here to help me do the right thing." She pleaded softly her fingers tracing his face lovingly.

"The right thing? You turn to me to help you do the right thing." He shook his head. "I do not think you could do the wrong thing even if you tried." Loki mulled over it all. He didn't like it. He was infuriate that she would be taken from him even for a short time. He worried she would encounter problems she would not be able to handle. He feared for her safety. "I do not like this but you seem to have already made up your mind." He told her and she nodded. "How often?"

"Once a month for now." She held a reassuring smile on her face to try to calm his mind.

"Shiaji goes with you." He said suddenly. The cat was after all her guardian. It would put Loki's mind at ease to know she had at least the cat with her. "He does not leave your side ever!" He said sternly. She nodded and kissed his forehead.

They crawled in bed together. "I still do not like this." He growled again reinforcing his displeasure.}

Loki kissed Cephera's head outside the Byfrost one last time. He loathed to let her go but she was determined. He enjoyed her determination but he only wished it had been for some other endeavour. As much as he had tried to blame Odin he knew it was not all him.

Cephera had been clear all week about how he shouldn't blame his father. He was trying to follow her words. The changes he was trying to make to himself were because of her and no other. Had she not been around he would still be spiralling into the depths of his insecurities and jealousy.

Having her at his side and giving him reason to see things differently was something he was truly grateful for. While she was gone the children would have to be the constant reminder that his life was better now then it had ever been before. She would only be gone a day or two. He had urged her to keep her visits brief if possible until the people of SHIELD became used to her.

"Remember the things I told you." He reminded her. She nodded.

"You worry to much." She smiled.

"We've had this conversation before." He smirked and watched her enter the dome.

Cephera followed Thor through the streets to the huge compound that was now SHIELD's home base. Thor was let in instantly without ID. And she followed with no questions asked. Thor had informed the head of this facility of her coming arrival.

"Do not be afraid sister. These people are not as bad as my brother believes. They may have methods that are not always pleasant but they mean well." Thor's reassurance was nice. She smiled up at him and Shiaji purred in her ear from his place on her shoulder.

"Thor." Cephera knew the voice without looking. Natasha Romanov in all her beautiful professionalism had come to meet them down the long hallway. "They tell me to call you Ambassador Cephera. Somehow I don't think you're going to agree." She said turning her eyes to her.

"Just Cephera is fine. If a name must be used here on earth that's more formal Mrs. Fair-O' lite will do. It was my parents surname." Natasha gave a serious nod.

"This way. Director Fury is waiting." They followed the red head throughout the facility until they reached a large room much like a conference room. A man Cephera had yet to meet stood inside. It seemed he had brought together the Avengers team and an agent she also was not acquainted with.

"Please take a seat." The dark skinned man told her. "I'm Director Nick Fury. I'm head of this facility."

"I'm Cephera Fair-O'lite." She replied kindly. In Asgard there was no real surnames so keeping her old one was still allowed in such circumstances. She hardly used her adoptive fathers unless it would be a benefit. On earth it held no benefits.

"Ambassador Cephera, I have been told you already met my team." He gestured to the people at the table. "This is Maria Hill. Since the loss of my second commanding Agent she has filled that role. Hill will be present at all future meetings though the rest of these people may not."

"Nice to meet you." Cephera responded unsure what else to say at this current time.

"It is also my understanding that you are indeed the wife of the former war criminal Loki." She nodded. "Then you should also understand that trust will be an issue till such a time when we are able to come to an understanding." Fury was stood with his hands behind his back. His posture cried important.

"I understood this hiccup when I was placed in this position. I would feel the same if the roles were reversed. This is also why Asgard asks nothing in return at the moment but the chance to understand your organization." Fury tilted his head downward taking her in with his one available eye.

"At the moment..." He paused. "You are sent here to negotiate a truce between our planets, or realms as you call them, and seek to ask for things in return when it was one of your own who started this ripple to begin with." Fury didn't seem angry but he was contemplating the hidden meaning to her words.

"The All father has concerns regarding your methods and use of certain technologies. He seeks to only make sure we are all on the same page." She never had taken a seat. She stood as tall and serious as he was on the direct opposite end of the table as him. Thor had not intervened as his father had warned him not too.

Cephera had to do this on her own. "And what concerns your king?"

"He is concerned for the uses you plan for the Destroyer that once belonged to Asgard." She stated simply.

"That piece of weaponry was lost in the explosion your husband caused when he used the tesseract to open a portal into our previous head facility." Cephera narrowed her eyes.

"I suggest we do not start this alliance off with lies. We know that the Destroyer, though not in the best condition, was indeed recovered from your previous base. The king is concerned that should you find a way to reawaken or use this technology to your benefit against other realms that Asgard will come into blame for providing you with it. And perhaps cause unnecessary war." She had put both her hands flat to the table and leaned forward. She kept her tone even.

"Oh snap! She got you there." Tony piped up suddenly. Fury turned his attention to him a moment.

"Stark you are here to observe not to add your two cents." Tony flashed his usual debonair smile. "Perhaps we are getting off on the wrong foot here." Fury conceded. Fury paused to think and then sat down. Cephera followed politely. "Lets start again shall we." He offered.

"No lies, no secrets. I come here to secure a permanent peace between our realms and to do so I will need an understanding of the way you work and your intentions on how you plan to use this alliance. In return we ask for your openness and also discretion concerning certain technology. So yes let's start again."