A week later, Grace found herself standing in the throne room at the base of the dias, Thor in his full kingly regalia with Mjolnir on his throne, Loki standing halfway down the stairs holding Gungir, dressed in his full regal armour, both men wearing their ceremonial helmets. Her long grey dress draped low on her back and showed off the flowers from the Yggdrasil tattoo that cascaded over her chest. The rest of the court mingled until Thor spoke, then their attention turned to the dias.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court! We are gathered here today to hear the proclamation of loyalty from Grace Stark, the newest member of our royal party." He nodded to Grace.

She took a deep breath and began to recite, "I, Grace Stark, of the realm of Midgard, do hearby swear fealty to the realm of Asgard. On my honour, I swear to keep the laws of this land as I live out my new life here, learning the traditions of my new culture and upholding the ways of life that are sacred to this new land. I... I..." She went pale, then crimson, embarrassed that she could not remember the rest of the oath as the court murmered behind her. She mouthed, "Shit..." to Loki, her face crossed with panic. Thor waited patiently, wondering what his brother would do.

Loki saw the look in Grace's eyes and stepped down from the dias. The members of the court flitted fans and whispered behind covered lips. There would certainly be rumours of a great scandal by morning. It was unheard of, they would say, for the prince, or anyone, for that matter, to aid in the saying of the oath of fealty. He simply did not care. Grace's burning cheeks and dampening eyes said everything- she was hurting, he could not let them humiliate her. He stood before her and took her hand, leaning in to her ear to whisper the next line to her.

He then kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand, "You can do this." He returned to his place on the dias and smiled gently, prompting her with a nod.

Grace took a moment to calm herself, focussing on Loki's whisper reciting the next words, "I will not betray my king, prince, or realm if the temptation arises, but I will bind myself to this place as though it were the realm of my birth. I will seek to serve this place faithfully, ever mindful that I am of two worlds, carefully balancing the calling of both in my heart. Midgard has been my home. Asgard is now my home. I will learn, I will teach, I will belong to both through the love I have for my blood family and the family I have chosen." She lowered herself to her knees as Thor had instructed, "I give these words to my king and ask that he seal them by the powers of this throne, accepting the gift of my loyalty to Asgard."

Thor was beaming with pride, "Grace Stark, I accept your oath and your gift and declare you a citizen of Asgard as well as of Midgard, free to move between the realms as your heart calls you. May no one in this realm treat you as any less than one of our own native daughters, protected by the full might of this throne." He stepped downrf and stood before Grace, offering her his hand and raising her up before clasping her in his embrace, speaking only to her when he said, "Truly, welcome. From this day forth, I consider you my sister, whether or not my brother ever asks this of you. Your presence in Asgard has changed us in only this short time you have been here." He took a step back from her and walked past her into the court, "Come, we must ready for feasting!"

Grace felt intensely relieved that the ordeal was over as she watched Thor depart, so much that she did not hear Loki come down the stairs, "Shall we sit for a moment before we join them?" She nodded, pale, as though she might faint, as he placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the far edge of the stairs where they could rest a little less conspicuously, "You did beautifully, Gracie." He set his helmet aside and an attendent silently slipped in and removed it even before she could reply.

"Who are you shitting? I fucked up."

"And in a few days, no one will remember that. They are much more likely to remember that I broke tradition in coming down to speak to you than that you stumbled on a few words."

"Stumbled? Honey, my mind went completely blank. As in, nothing, gone, poof. There was only terror and nothing where there should have been words. God, I bollocksed that up." She dropped her head to her hands and sighed, "You're sure everything'll be OK?"

"Thor accepted the oath and pronounced it to the court. There is nothing anyone can do to undo that. You are one of us." He smiled at her and touched her shoulder, "And with the might of Asgard at your back, you have nothing to fear."

"I don't think the court is going to like me very long. I feel really out of place in this crowd. I mean, look at how everybody's dressed, and here I am, in a long grey 70s Grecian looking gown, most of my back exposed, and burlesque heels. I'm a Stark... we don't exactly fit in."

"Gracie, stop. You are fine as you are. You are not the only one out of place in the court. I have been raised to fit in with them and yet still I am terribly uncomfortable in this room, fulfilling the duties to the throne that are mine and mine alone. Duties I have been schooled in since I was brought here and felt awkward doing since long before I knew who I really was."

"I guess I just feel really overwhelmed...and like I completely just screwed over something I was supposed to pull off flawlessly to prove I'm worthy of this place."

He sighed, "You have nothing to prove. What can I do to show you this?"

"Nothing. I'm damn hard to convince of something once its opposite gets stuck in my head." In response, Loki kissed her lips until she relaxed against him.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Now you've really given them something to gossip about."

"As though they would not have gossiped about us eventually?"

"Well if you were trying to get me to stop thinking, it worked."

"Good. And you do know that was not just a kiss, correct?"

"Has it ever been?"

"No, it never is. 'Just' is such a horrid, diminishing little word."

"You know that I can't be everything a normal girlfriend is, right? That there's a reason sex with guys isn't my thing?"

"You worry about this?" He was honestly surprised by her concern.

"God, yes."

Loki shook his head and chuckled, "Oh, Gracie, my dear...so long as we can share kisses and the comfort of one another through the nights, I will be happy. You are the companion to my spirit, the one who sings the song of my soul."

"You aren't going to feel cheated?"

"No. My devotion does not require such things- it has not for the years we have been so close, why should that change? Ease your mind, love. Today is supposed to be the day we celebrate you as one of Asgard, and it is your 86th birthday, is it not? What can I gift you in honour of this?"

"Well I have been thinking...and it's not something for right now, but maybe a promise would be a good gift?"

"Speak, my love."

"I want kids...obviously not the normal way, but...well, we're both orphans taken in by people who could save us from death. I want to pass that gift on. I want to find kids who have no hope and bring them up as part of this family once I've found my feet. We're both where we are today because somebody thought we were worth saving and I want to do that for as many kids as I can. Can we do that? Can you promise me we'll build this family like that when we're ready?"

Loki looked a bit overwhelmed, "I am not so certain I am up for that task...but if you wish it, I will try."

"Haven't I told you before to stop selling yourself short? You'll be great. It's not like Tony knew how to be a dad when he took me in- he didn't even know how to be a big brother. He just knew I needed him and did his best. For being raised by a party-boy with an ego problem, I think I turned out pretty well."

"You really believe I can raise children?"

"Yeah, I do. I think you'll be awesome- I wouldn't ask if I didn't."

"Then yes. I promise you that we will, when you have found your bearings, take in orphaned children as our own."

She kissed his cheek, "Thank you. I've kind of always wanted this, but never thought I could do it alone." She paused and hugged him tightly, beaming and joyful, "Thank you so much."

Loki relaxed and squeezed back, "Of course- happy birthday, my dear. And I am grateful for your faith in me. We shall take on this adventure together. Now, though, Thor waits."

"The feast- we're supposed to be there, aren't we?"

"Soon, yes, but our few moments' delay will hurt no one."

"We're certainly providing fuel for the gossip machine, aren't we? Breaking the traditions around the oath, kissing in public, late for my own feast. What the hell, right?"

"Indeed."

"I don't want to just be thought of as your whore, though...so if we're feeding that rumour...well, I'd rather not."

He took both her hands in his, "Gracie, there will be no doubt of your station here once they see where Thor has seated you tonight. There are rules for seating at feasts. The king, queen, royal family, consorts, and court all have their place, as do guests of those people and escorts they bring."

"So where has he seated me?"

He smiled, "Come, see. I want to walk you to your seat myself."

"Am I dressed OK for a feast? I shouldn't be more elegant or something?"

"You are elegant. The ladies of court should learn something from you." He stood offering her his hand after retrieving Gungir, "Shall we?"

Grace accepted and stood still for a moment, centering herself, before giving his hand a squeeze and taking a deep breath, "Here we go, right?"

"The first step into our new life, yes."

"Yeah. First step. A new adventure." He moved forward and she did the same, gaining confidence as he escorted her through the palace to the feasting hall. Before entering, they were met by attendents who straightened Loki's long leather vest and fussed over every detail, making sure not a hair was out of place. He dismissed them, irritated when they tried to pose he and Grace.

His posture tall and formal, he offered her his arm and she similarly straightened, "I am Grace motherfucking Stark and I can rock this." He saw a change in her stance, strengthened by her pride, the instant she spoke.

"And I am Loki Odinson, and yes, we will, as you say, rock this... Did I ever tell you that I hate feasts?"

She giggled, "Oh hell, this is going to be hilarious."

"Quite possibly. The best part of any feast is likely the food and the second best being that when you are one of the only ones sober enough to remember it in the morning, you have very good stories to tell and to use as encouragement for certain favours later on."

"Blackmail is always grand."

"I suppose you had these opportunities yourself."

"Tony provided me with a lot of chances, yeah."

"Then perhaps together we can actually make this fun. Are you ready? They will announce us when you are."

"Yeah. Let's be badass bitches. I just hope I don't fall off my shoes."

Loki gestured to the attendent, "Then let us enter." They were announced and the hall went silent as the large doors opened for the guest of honour escorted by the prince. He felt her tremble slightly as they began walking, but her head was still held high and she smiled as brightly as she could manage, reminding herself that, thanks to Loki's magic and Thor's proclamation, she was one of them now, and to top it all off, she was being escorted into the room by the person second in line to the throne. She kept wondering where her seat was as they passed empty place after empty place, approaching the high table where Thor sat beside Sif, his soon-to-be-queen. Grace's heart beat a little faster as they got closer to the king's table. When they stood in front of the head table Loki bowed and she followed suit, then he led her to the two seats left beside the king and future-queen. He pulled out her seat for her and then sat between she and Thor.

"Now do you see why I said there would be no doubt of your station here once the court saw where you were seated?"

Grace looked out over the members of the court, many of whom were whispering amongst themselves, glancing from the head table back to their gossip companions, "It certainly seems to have caused a stir out there."

Thor leaned forward to look around Loki and interrupted, "I am the first new king in millenia- there will be nothing about my reign that does not cause them to titter about like chattering rhodents. I have no doubt that my not being Odin will cause plenty of scandals."

"Thanks, Thor. Or do I have to call you by a title now?"

"Titles are for courtly occassions- you are family at my table, you do not need such formality."

Loki smiled, "See? You have nothing to worry about."

"This feels really crazy, Loki. I'm the kid from Brewster, and here I am sitting up here like a goddamned princess! How the heck did this happen? Am I going nuts?"

"What was that line from the book we read together? 'We're all mad here.' The child from Brewster becomes the princess when she becomes friends with the prince."

"Even if she's only ever the prince's best friend and they never make anything official?"

"Even if. Now stop worrying about such things." He placed a hand on her knee, "This feast is yours. We eat, we drink, we revel in good conversation and company. Perhaps we dance later on. But you need not feel out of place. Remember how short a time I have been back at court. We are both yet finding our feet. Relax, enjoy your birthday."

Thor rose and Grace waited to respond to Loki; the hall went silent as Thor proclaimed the feast open. The court took their seats and returned to their conversations as the serving attendents paraded out with platters of steaming food for each table, starting at the head. The aromas were tantalising.

Grace took a deep breath, "Yeah. Relax. Enjoy this." The attendents began serving the meal and she broke into a grin, "Oh my gosh, Loki, we've got so many adventures in front of us! And we're going to get to do fancy things when we want to and explore new places and meet so many new people! I've been so overwhelmed with this oath thing that I just keep forgetting that a little over a week ago, I was pretty much dead and now there's this whole new life to live."

Loki was smiling as Thor leaned over to interject, "And live it you shall! Whatever you wish to explore, Grace, we will make it so. Loki can show you how to fly our hovercraft, I will show you the treasures of many realms stored in our vaults, and Sif will train you to fight alongside us. We will have a great many adventures together, including one that this realm has not seen in millenia- the crowing of a new queen! Asgard is changing and you are right here to see it!"

Sif waved to her, "Thor has said we will rule together as a family- so welcome, dear sister."

Grace was grinning as she looked out over the court, "Well, as the song says, 'it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll'- I think I've made it."

The feast well underway, Loki kissed her cheek, "Yes, my love, you have."

"Do you think Tony would be proud?"

"Very. Now, Gracie- what is it you would like to bring to this land from Midgard?"

"Theatre for the fun of it- musicals. Rock music. Vinyl records. Art for the sake of art. And maybe even baseball."

"Look out Asgard, here comes Grace Stark!" Thor replied.

Grace stabbed at some sort of roast beast on her plate, "Yeah, look out Asgard- here I come!" Grace did not know if any of her dreams would be able to become reality, but she did know that Loki was already working on ways to power her record player and that meant that there would at least be some changes in technology in Asgard thanks to her. And the chance to change the world on her own, seperate from the Stark family name and fortune, was something she was greatly looking forward to.