The soft rays of the morning Asgardian sun broke through Eldrid's chambers. The gentle breeze that blew her curtains that were connected to the balcony doorways billowed as morning filled the bedroom. Satin sheets had been tousled throughout the night as the newlyweds consummated their marriage until finally succumbing to their inevitable exhaustion. Limbs laid strewn over others as the husband stirred first from his slumber. The new terminology was something they were still adjusting to but they were eager to use it. They already realized that there was much more to showcasing each other their love as the night drew out. Hands entangled together in the thralls of passion, connecting themselves further than ever. Endless whisperings of devotion. They had wished the night to never end, but then they both realized in their own time throughout the night that they didn't have to wish for that any longer.

For they were married.

They were bound under the eyes of the Nine Realms and their witnesses. Together for all eternity.

No longer did they have to steal glances towards the other as they had once done. No more were there needless wishings and wanderings, overlooking their shoulders to see if they had been followed.

Apprehensions of a new kind now unfolded.

Loki's true parentage frightened him more than he led on, but El could sense it as they laid together. He was fearful that now that he knew, he would have trouble concealing himself. His powers. In the thralls of passion would he accidentally hurt her? He would have none of that. He already was aware of her sensitivity to the cold. Her slight shivers as he first touched her as the night commenced. The shivers of excitement and curiosity.

Eldrid held no fear towards Loki. For she knew him, fully and completely. They had the rest of their lives to worry about trivial fears and misunderstandings. Together they were stronger than any of that.

And as Loki's eyes opened to see his wife still asleep amidst their tangled sheets and limbs; her head on his arm as her leg was over his, their feet entangled together, nothing but a simple, light blue satin sheet covered them. He saw nothing but his beautiful bride, his queen, his angel. His rose. He simply watched her as the morning continued to fill the chamber. The doors to the connecting balcony had been opened to let the cool night breeze in and now they welcomed the crisp morning air.

Loki wondered if he should summon someone to fetch them breakfast, or if one of Eldrid's ladies would draw them a bath. But all of that could wait for when his wife had fully risen.

"My Rose." Loki whispers as he places a gentle kiss on Eldrid's temple. "The world is ours.." He added softly as she stirred underneath him. Her hands found the nape of his neck, gentle fingers ever so slightly scratching the back of his neck, her fingers catching the ends of his hair. One of her signs of love.

"My Darling.." Eldrid whispered back as her eyes opened and adjusted to the morning light. She subconsciously pulled the satin sheet above herself and looked upwards towards her husband.

"Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy
Be heap'd like mine and that thy skill be more
To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath
This neighbour air, and let rich music's tongue
Unfold the imagined happiness that both
Receive in either by this dear encounter." Loki quoted Shakespere's Romeo and Juliet with a small smile appearing on his lips. Eldrid hummed contentment as Loki rested himself ontop of Eldrid's body. His head resting on her chest, her gentle fingers fingers his scalp and running her fingers through his hair.

"Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,
Brags of his substance, not of ornament:
They are but beggars that can count their worth;
But my true love is grown to such excess
I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth." Eldrid quoted Juliet's line. Her eyes looked upwards at the intricate paintings on her ceiling depicting the gardens and orchards surrounding the palace and Asgard.

"The wedding scene." Loki says in a sigh of happiness as his eyes closed, "I had almost forgotten it. That is, until i saw you once more."

Eldrid glances down at Loki, her hands gently plaiting strands of his hair. "It hurt to read. But i did. For my own sake. That despite tragedy that would befall them, they still found love. They still cherished it and devoted themselves to it."

"Love can make someone go mad."

"Love drives a person to do more. Because they have more to lose than just their own life or wellbeing if their love is towards that of another." Eldrid counters softly. She wasn't denying that love could make someone go mad, she had seen it on Alfheim. The love of money and power often did that to people who were susceptible.

"Aye... love can come in many forms. Not just that of another." Loki agrees as his fingers danced across her side softly. Tracing invisible patterns.

"The love of power. I saw that firsthand." Eldrid says quietly, her eyes fluttering shut as she remembered parts of her time on Alfheim. The fighting that ensued around council meetings and between factions. Lords and barons fighting for what they thought was rightfully theirs. Dukes demandings. She was tired of the love of power and greed for more.

"You haven't talked much about your time on the Elven realm since your return.." Loki says gently, sitting up and pulling Eldrid onto his lap. "Does that have to do with what happened though it came out victorious for you? Or because there simply hasn't been time to do so.."

Eldrid sighs, leaning into Loki's embrace, neither of them clothed as they rested in their bed. Enjoying each other's company in the purest form. "A bit of both, i would say." She responds softly. "It was taxing on the mind to witness so many new lords want more power and money because of the taste they had been given. It astounded me that they were not satisfied with what they had been given. It was more than enough by Alfheim's standards." Eldrid vented to her new husband and he welcomed it. He wanted to know about her time there because he had not been kind in the past towards her letters. He had dismissed them without reading them or responding to them. "And i arrived the day before Thor's coronation... and then everything that transpired with the Frost Giants... and his banishment... your true parentage being revealed and Father's Odinsleep... your impromptu coronation.... And now our wedding day and night."

Loki nods, it was true that they had little time for themselves since everything had transpired. It was a lot to be crammed into roughly four days. "It... has been a lot..." He mutters in agreement. "But now... now we go on with our lives. Until Odin has awakened..."

"And Thor returns."

"If he returns." Loki states and Eldrid hesitates. She couldn't fathom her brother not returning to his home. The home he devoted himself to protecting.

"He will, Darling... he must." Eldrid says, sitting up slightly and looking up at Loki. Her eyebrows knit together in worry. "His banishment was never permanent. Father would not do that."

Loki didn't want to crush Eldrid's hopes, he didn't have the will to do so. So if letting her believe that her brother would return eased her stress and worry, he would let her. His plans were still working how they should be, even with the addition of Eldrid into the mix. He would not lose her as he once did. He would do anything to keep her from leaving his side. She was the only one he could trust other than himself. She was his everything.

And if that meant letting her believe lies.

Then so be it.

"Allfather, we must speak with you urgently." Sif says as she and the Warriors Three enter the throne room where Loki sits in the throne, Eldrid by his side on his right. The sight before the group of four confused them. They felt something had changed. Something was not right with the picture before them.

"Our... friends.." Loki begins with a half smile as he sits upright in the throne, his helmet atop of his head and Odin's spear clutched in his hand. Eldrid beside him, sitting on the edge of the large armrest.

"Where's Odin?" Fandral questions in confusion. Word had not spread of the Odinsleep claiming the Allfather just yet. The royal family did not want the people of Asgard to worry while Thor was still banished.

"Father has fallen into the Odinsleep." Eldrid answers. Loki takes her hand in his right hand, lacing their fingers together despite the audience. He knew she needed comfort. "Mother fears he may never wake again." She says shakily.

"We would speak with her." Sif demands as the four approach the throne quickly.

"She has refused to leave his bedside." Loki states, leaving out the fact that Frigga had left Odin's bedside once. To witness Loki and Eldrid's wedding. "You can bring your urgent matters... to us." He adds, motioning to himself and Eldrid. He glances at Eldrid and she nods, letting go of her husband's hand as he stands.

"Your king." Eldrid states to the four.

"And his advisor." Loki adds, glancing back at Eldrid with a smile reserved for her before looking back at the group of four before them with a neutral expression

The Warriors Three and Sif glance at each other and then look back at Loki and Eldrid. They knew, no, Sif knew something was not right with Eldrid. If Odin was in his Odinsleep and it was feared he would never wake, Eldrid would be stricken with grief, she would be distraught at the thought of her father possibly never waking. So why was she beside Loki during this time. Surely he had it handled.

But they could do nothing about it in this instance. And they wouldn't, not with El present. Their quarrel was with Loki now. Whatever he was scheming, Eldrid was not subject to that it seemed. The trust Eldrid had in Loki was alarming to say the least. Something changed in the few days she had been home.

The group of four knelt before Loki, Eldrid walking to him on the platform, standing beside her husband. But that wasn't to be announced just yet. Not until they could have a proper wedding ceremony and honeymoon.

"My King, we would ask that you end Thor's banishment." Sif asks, uncertain of the terrain she and the Warriors Three were entering with Loki being King.

Loki tilted his head slightly and chuckled at their audacity to ask such a question. Eldrid simply looked at Loki, letting him speak his peace. "My first command cannot be to undo the Allfather's last." He says as he breaks away from Eldrid and walks slowly down the stairs. El clasped her hands gently in front of herself, staying put on the platform. "We're on the brink of war with Jotunheim. Our people need a sense of continuity, in order to feel safe in these difficult times." Loki states and turns to look at Eldrid. He extends his hand towards her and she gracefully lifts her skirt up slightly and moves down the stairs, taking his hand and standing beside him once again at the bottom of the stairs, standing above the others as they remained knelt.

"All of us must stand together for the good of Asgard." Eldrid states with a small smile towards her friends. Sif's eyes knit together as she looked at Loki and Eldrid. She wasn't attuned with magic like the two standing in front of her, but she could sense something had shifted between them. She moved abruptly to stand upwards but Fandral grabbed the swordswoman and held her tightly. Not letting her anger and confusion interfere.

Fandral looked at Eldrid with a weak smile, he too could sense there had been a shift in dynamic. "Yes, of course." He states, trying to ease the tensions building in the throne room. It seemed Eldrid was blind to Loki's misdoings in power, he was next in line, but he was taking it too seriously.

"Good. Then you will wait for my word." Loki states to them.

Volstagg looks at Loki and Eldrid, "If i may..." He mutters, waiting for one of them to nod for him to continue or stop. When Eldrid smiles at her redheaded friend with a nod, her hand motioning outwards for him to proceed. Sif and the others knew then, with Volstagg's simple question, that Eldrid had power over Loki. No matter if he was King and she was an advisor. Loki would not dismiss her. "Beg the indulgence of Your Majesty, Your Highness, to perhaps... reconsider..."

"We're done!" Loki snaps. Eldrid places her hand on Loki's arm, his jaw tightening in frustration but he wasn't stopping her.

Eldrid steps away from Loki and walks towards Volstagg. She motions for her friends to rise and she looks at Volstagg. "We will discuss it." She states to him, "But it is ultimately up to our King to decide." She reminds them, glancing at all of them to make sure they understood that the transfer of power was true and not a stolen throne.

Sif looked at Loki in defiance before her gaze shifted to Eldrid and softened. "Eldrid-"

"You will address her properly." Loki snapped. He wanted them out of the throne room but Eldrid wouldn't let them leave just yet.

Eldrid looks back at Loki, her eyes telling him to calm down. She had it handled and didn't need him to intervene. When she looks back at Sif, she clutches her best friend's hands in her own. "You needn't worry, Sif. Trust me." She says with a small smile.

"I do trust you.." Sif mutters softly and then glances at Loki who stands behind Eldrid, watching the two women converse. "But something does not feel right." She whispers before pressing her hand over her chest in salute with the Warriors Three and then swiftly making their leave.

When the four had finally left the throne room. Eldrid feels Loki wrap his arm around her waist from behind and he trails soft, gentle kisses down her neck. She hums in delight and glances upwards at her husband. "They are merely concerned for Thor, he is their close friend after all. His banishment and Father's Odinsleep are all horrid timing, my Love.." She murmurs as he grips onto her a bit tighter, turning her around so she faces her husband.

"Enough of this." He whispers, he extended the hand that held his scepter and one of the guards swiftly removed it from his grasp so he could hold his bride with both arms. "Leave us." He demands the guards. His smirk widens when they leave, giving the newlyweds the throne room to themselves. "Right now, it's just you and me, Rose." He whispers. "You cannot escape me."

Eldrid smirks as her arms wrap around his neck, pulling her even closer to him. "Who said i was escaping?" She asks teasingly as she leans slightly upwards, their lips molding together passionately.