This Is Stella's Reality

June 11, 2015

As my feet hit the stone floors of Asgard's gate, I thought, no matter how many times I saw it's golden glory, I would never tire of seeing it.

My skin was aglow with the afternoon light that reflected from every surface of the city. Beside me, Steve, Bucky, Thor, and Bruce walked from the shining rainbow portal. Heimdall was standing before us with his aged yet kind face. He smiled, "Welcome back, Son of Odin and," he paused, "Daughter of Hades." There was a lift in his voice as he said it. Admiration or tease I could not tell.

Regardless, I smiled at him. Thor had insisted I wear the clothing my father had gifted me. Deeply black and plum, I felt a bit out of place amongst the red and gold of Asgard. The world around me glittered, but there I was, dark as ink.

Thor stepped beside me, a bright smile on his face in an attempt to reassure me. "Do not fear, goddess. Keep your head high as we entire my father's court." He winked at me and began walking with Bruce across the bridge into the golden city.

Steve and Bucky joined me, and together, we walked slightly behind Thor and Bruce. My heart hammered a bit, anxiety rushing through me in fear of ridicule from Asgard's golden citizens and its king.

We kneeled before Odin.

His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through me, and I felt his judgement rolling thickly through his thoughts. "Nymph," he said. His voice was amused, boarder line cruel. "Stand."

As I stood, my eyes grazed over Thor. He glanced at me with a slight nod and a small smile.

My eyes lifted to Odin. He was leaning, resting his head on his hand and staring at me. "You expect me to believe you are capable of pulling truthful memories from Loki when you cannot even do the same to your own mind?" He laughed as he said it, and my skin burned with rage.

I narrowed me eyes at him, taking a step forward and clenching my fists. "My past is irrelevant to Loki's trial. I am a goddess, daughter of Hades. My powers speak for themselves, and if you no longer believe me or your son, there are deeper issues within this court than I previously thought."

Odin opened his mouth to speak, but I raised my hand and cut him off. "Loki is innocent. I have relived his torture and seen his mind. As I have told you before, it was not he that wished to destroy earth. Those memories were not fabricated. You know that."

We stared at each other in silence for a long time. I felt anxiety dripping from the four men kneeling behind me. Steve and Bucky were afraid Odin would strike me dead. But I held firm and held Odin's gaze.

Eventually, he scoffed and stood, taking slow steps towards me. "You have only just learned of your parentage, yet you speak so boldly to a king, one of the oldest gods to live." He laughed at me. "You are a nymph. You are lucky my son protects you." He turned back to his throne.

The world vibrated around me, and like fog clearing under a burning sun, I heard Odin's thoughts clear as day. I smiled to myself.

"I am a nymph. I am a daughter of Persephone and Hades. I am a prolific witch, and I am here on behalf of Loki." I paused for a moment before smiling at Odin's sneering face. "Your thoughts tell me you do not care if Loki is innocent or not. You see him in your mind's eye, rotting in that golden cell for the rest of time. You see me, failing and sobbing, kneeling before your throne to beg for his release. You know I need a teacher, and you wish to spite the both of us for your own petty amusement."

I stepped closer to him then, my voice low and dangerous with an intensity I did not know I possessed. "Know this, Odin: I will no longer kneel to you. Loki will be released tomorrow, and if such insults towards me slip from your tongue again, I am sure you know the House of Hades does not tolerate such disrespect."

"Stand," my voice echoed through the court as I turned back to the four men still kneeling and staring at the ground. "I am done with him." I walked past them and did not wait for them to rise before I stormed out of the throne room and down to Loki's cell.

Their feet clamored behind me, and they all spoke at once, begging for my attention, to slow down and speak to them. I did not. Anger coursed through my veins, and rage burned like white hot iron in my heart.

My feet thundered down the stairs to find Loki lounging across his bed, tossing a ball in the air and grinning to himself.

"You seem upset, goddess," he mused.

My eyes narrowed to him. "Odin is a fool." The boys stood around me awkwardly, listening to our conversation.

Loki laughed, "What has he done to anger the great goddess, Stella."

"Do not test me," I warned him. "I stood up to him in your defense. Do not make me regret it."

"You did not stand up for only me, stupid girl," he sneered as he stood. "You berated him for your own honor." He sighed, juggling that ball between his hands as he paced his cell. "It is respectable. I would have done the same." He admitted as he approached me, standing opposite to me behind the golden walls. "We are not so unlike each other, nymph."

Thor stepped forward, "Watch yourself, Loki. You are nothing like her. Do not insult her in such ways."

"I mean no disrespect," Loki said wistfully. His eyes watched me carefully before he inspected Steve, Bucky, and Thor. "How kind of the mortals to come enjoy the show. Pay no mind to the fight that is sure to occur tomorrow afternoon. Your lady, myself, and my father in the same room together?" He pursed his lips and shook his head. "It promises to be a spectacle."

"Shut up," I ordered.

His eyes snapped to me. "Every day that passes, you remind me more and more of your father. That same firey rage and untamable pride," he mused. "It seems as if the flower does not grow far from the forest."

"Must you be so insufferable?" Thor sighed.

"It is his nature," I said.

Loki laughed and laid back on his bed. "Smart girl," he said. "Now, leave, you are interrupting my peace."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the boys, motioning them up the stairs. They were silent until we reached the private safety of that old lounge room we had used during our last visit.

Thor stared at me. "You were quite brave to speak to my father in such a way," he said with wary clear in his voice.

I huffed, turning away from them and pouring myself wine. He deserved it.

Bucky's hand wrapped around my waist, "Doll, I need you to promise to be more careful. I really thought he'd kill you." His voice pulled me from my rage, soft and gentle as the fist rays of pale light in the morning.

My eyes lifted to his, creased in their worry and his brow heavy with concern. "I'm sorry," I breathed. "His thoughts made me so angry. His joy in seeing me throw myself at his feet and cry, begging for Loki's release," acid burned up my throat, and my anger threatened to return.

Steve leaned closer to us and pressed a kiss to my hair. "I know," he sighed, "we know."

"Don't let him bother you," Bruce said from the couch. "He's old and bitter, and it's not his decision alone whether or not Loki is innocent. There's a whole council that has to decide."

I turned to face him. He was trying to be as supportive as possible, but he and I both knew Odin was not to be trusted. His will triumphed over everyone else's. The council would vote however he ordered them to.

But I chose to believe him. I nodded and drank all of my wine at once, moving to pour myself more in hopes of drowning out my anger and anxiety.

The boys and I sat on the couches, drinking late into the evening as visiting Asgardians found us and caught up with Thor. They came and went, filtering through the room so dizzyingly my head spun.

I leaned against both Steve and Bucky, not caring who saw us or what they thought. Their hands rested firmly around my waist and hips, holding my thighs as I lounged over them, tipping back more and more thick and sweet alcohol.

Tomorrow would be a spectacle, as Loki put it, but tonight, I would wash away those worries and force my mind to push away any thoughts of Odin and his corrupted court.