CHAPTER NINETEEN

Clint couldn't sleep. No matter what he did, all he achieved was tossing and turning in the opulent room he had chosen. Finally he'd had enough of hours alone. He didn't know what Thor's people had decided to do with Loki after his attack on Earth, but somehow he doubted death had been the answer.

He pushed the comforter off of himself. Bare feet touched the brown and gold marble tile floor silently. He sighed, his shoulders sagging as he gripped the side of the bed with both hands. The seemingly perpetual fire on the other side of the room offered some light. Clint finally stood from the bed, slipping on black sweatpants over his purple boxers.

"I am a god. You are but mortals."

Clint gasped, grabbing at his face out of pure instinct. He fumbled around for a shirt from his pack. He found one. Drawing his hand out quickly, he nicked the back of his hand on one of his arrows. Clint hissed in pain, pulling his hand close to his chest.

"Mortals bleed, Agent Barton. I need you to do what you do best."

As he muttered a few expletives under his breath, Clint found his backpack where he kept his bandages. The cut wasn't particularly deep, but it stung. He slapped on a white bandage across his hand and shook his head. Fury's mandated four months of therapy had barely helped... then again Clint supposed he hadn't exactly helped himself. He hadn't thought he needed help.

He would push through this. He didn't need help. He could do this. He didn't need help.

Walking over to the large window, he separated the red velvet curtains that flowed ten feet down from above him attached just below the high ceiling. He slid himself so that he sat on the window alcove seat. He saw the very beginnings of a sunrise and breathed a sigh of relief. He stayed like that for at least an hour, watching and waiting. Slowly the brilliant stars faded as a sun rose on Asgard.

A knock sounded on his door. Clint slipped down from the window seat and padded over to it. His feet stuck to the tile ground as he walked. When he opened the door, he found Natasha and Tony dressed and ready for the day.

"You're going to meet the royals looking like that?" Tony asked with a chuckle.

Clint sighed. "When?"

"Thor's getting the others up," Natasha said. Her eyes flickered down to the bandage on Clint's hand. "Tony, why don't you go help the others, since you're the fashion expert."

Tony scoffed. "Fine. Still think Clint needs my help the most." But he left the Shield agents alone to find Bruce.

Natasha gestured for Clint to head back in. He felt his jaw clench. When Natasha closed the door behind her, she leaned against it and looked him over. "You look like crap, Clint," she said.

Clint chuckled. "Never were one for small talk, Nat. I'm fine, trust me. Not my fault my hair gets crazy after I sleep."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't lie to me, Clint. We've gone through too much to do this song and dance."

He didn't respond. Clint bit his lip and turned away from her. He put his hands on his hips as he stared out the window. "What do you want me to say, Natasha? I'm doing my best."

"We both know that dealing with mind control takes more than a few months to get over," she argued. Natasha walked over to him. She stood right in front of him. "We went through it with me. You were there the whole damn time, for God only knows what reason."

"We were sleeping together at the time," he reminded her cheekily. "Had to be a good boyfriend."

Natasha smiled without amusement. She shook her head. "You just can't let go of the humor, can you. You're trying to deflect this."

"Is it working?"

"No."

Clint moved to the bed and sat down with a huff. He released a tense breath. Looking back at her he shrugged. "He's in my head, Tasha. And he won't leave."

She sat next to him. "I know. The Madame and Petrovitch don't leave mine. But with help, it can be minimized."

Clint stood and went over to his bags. He shuffled around for nicer clothes. He found dark jeans and changed into them as Natasha sat quietly, lost in her own thoughts. When he had finished, she stood and nodded.

"You can't do this alone, Clint," said Natasha quickly. "And you don't have to."

She opened the door. Together they went out into the massive center area. Paige sat by herself near the fountain. Her gaze darted around the room, taking it all in. There hadn't been time the night before. Tony, Bruce, Thor, and Steve stood chatting in their civilian clothes between Paige and the two Shield agents.

When they joined the four men, Thor grinned. "Good. We're ready then! First, to meet Queen Freyja and Princess Gersemi, and then to a war council."

Thor led them back down to the first level of the palace. As they entered the throne room four people only stood at the throne. The first two they recognized as King Odin and Queen Frigga, the others they guessed to be Freyja and Gersemi.

Freyja stood taller than her daughters. Paige noticed this immediately. She looked like age had never touched her, unlike Odin and Frigga who looked visibly older than Thor. Freyja's smooth skin culminated in a small nose. Her eyes were green and gold. As the Avengers got closer, they saw blue in her eyes as well. She stood straight, regal. Upon her head sat a small but thick crown of gold and silver which complemented her gold and off white gown. As she saw Paige, her eyes began to water and she covered her mouth with her hand in shock.

Beside her, Gersemi stood a little shorter. Dressed in a spring green, form fitting gown, her golden hair had been intricately braided into a design that acted almost as a crown in and of itself. A scent of roses and something else wafted from her as they stood near. Her face was exactly the same as Paige. Identical. Paige looked at Gersemi in hesitant amazement. But her twin eyed her suspiciously.

"After all these years, who could've imagined you would've been found on Midgard," Freyja murmured, reaching out to touch Paige's cheek. When the woman flinched back, she hesitated, and drew her hand back. "My apologies. It's just been so many years since I saw you last..."

Paige could all but feel all eyes on her. Heat rushed to her ears and cheeks and she could feel herself flushing. But her hands grew cold. She stuffed them in her jacket pockets.

"How was she lost," Bruce asked after a moment of awkward silence.

Freyja's jaw clenched and her hands formed fists. "Now that is an interesting tale, isn't it. It started five thousand years ago, with the end of the Aesir-Vanir war. I became the price for freedom here, and Mimir the price on Vanaheim." She glared at Odin briefly. "To solidify the peace, I married Od, brother of Odin."

"Like a hostage?" Clint asked in surprise.

Freyja answered before Odin could. "Exactly a hostage. Bor's last act was to draw up these terms with Njord, my father."

"They were mutually agreed upon," Odin added. "Our fathers signed the treaty, and we traded leaders."

Freyja sneered. She folded her arms and shook her head before continuing. "For years I lived here, the only Vanir alone among the Aesir. Tensions ran high between Vanaheim and Alfheim, and Asgard here. After my brother, King Freyr, had Mimir killed for treason in Vanaheim, Bor destroyed our civilization on Vanaheim and those few who remained moved to Alfheim, to rule on the planet of the Light Elves. Because of these tensions, Od and I only bore children recently." She glared at Odin. "And here, protection failed us."

"We underestimated the animosity between the peoples," Odin admitted quickly. "Not long after the births of Hnoss and Gersemi, a feast was held with both Vanir and Aesir, Light Elves and Asgardians."

"We hoped to celebrate a new chapter in relations between our peoples," Freyja said mockingly.

Frigga spoke up. "You believed that at the time, Freyja."

"I did. Foolishly." She turned back to the Avengers, and to Paige. "On the night of the feast, I left Hnoss, who had been up all night previously, under the protection of my royal guard while I attended the feast with Gersemi and Od. While we celebrated our newfound alliance, Asgardians slipped into my chambers, slew my guards, and stole Hnoss away. The crown princess."

Paige didn't miss Gersemi squirm at the title. Then again, Paige didn't particularly like the title either. She turned back to Freyja as Odin interrupted.

"We have no proof that it was Asgardians," he argued immediately. "It could've been the elves."

Freyja hissed out a response. "My people would never stoop so low as to harm the child of their Queen."

Frigga stepped between her husband and the other queen. "Needless to say, the entire city mourned. The dissidents to peace on both sides were rooted out. Hnoss was half Asgardian, after all, and a member of the royal family through Odin's brother. We searched for you, Paige," Frigga continued. "For years. Loki, Thor, Heimdall. But Heimdall could not see you, and no headway was made on discovering who had actually stolen you away. You were assumed dead after several years."

Paige nodded. "Okay. This is... a lot. I don't know what you expect me to do now that I'm found or whatever, but I was just starting to enjoy my life on Earth, and I don't particularly want to live here."

Freyja's face fell. "I figured you would feel this way. Having known you were raised by the mortals caused me great grief. Thor has spoken of their valiance despite their shortcomings, and I figured it possible you would've fallen for the charms of Midgard."

Gersemi spoke up. "Surely a decision need not be made yet," she said quietly. "There is much to do for war, I am told. For though I am not involved in the fighting, I am privy to counsels. Let my sister make her decision when the Dark Elves are dealt with."

Steve nodded. "We keep hearing about these Dark Elves. Who are they and what is there mission?"

Odin nodded. "Come, Avengers. We have counsels to take. The war room is not far, and hear all will be made clear." He turned quickly, leaving the whole group to follow after.

They walked from the throne room to the right. Through heavy double doors, they entered a room with a massive mahogany table. Its legs had been carved with wolves and snakes and any number of creatures the Avengers couldn't identify. The Warriors Three, Sif, and a few other men of Asgard sat around talking. Upon Odin's entrance they stood quickly.

"At ease," Odin ordered.

They sat back down, and the Avengers followed suit. Paige situated herself between Natasha and Clint, while Freyja took up a seat beside Frigga, with Gersemi beside her on the right.

"Bragi, the scrolls." Odin turned to a man who's brown beard had been cropped to a sharp point not far beneath his chin. "We must explain to these Avengers who it is we fight."

Using a set of scrolls as visual aids, Odin went on to explain that the Dark Elves, led by their leader Malekith, were hellbent on returning the cosmos to a place of absolute darkness. Before he could do so, however, he had to acquire a substance known as the Aether. Odin explained that this was their advantage.

"The Dark Elves do not now where the Aether is," Odin explained to his war council. "Herein lies our chance. If we can draw out Malekith, if we can kill him, this quest for eternal night will end."

Freyja nodded. "The Dark Elves will come for Alfheim first," she said. "As much as they hate the Asgardians, the Light Elves were their first enemy. They will look for the Aether on Alfheim."

"My thought exactly." He turned to the others. "I have already been in contact with King Freyr, and he has assured me his assistance in the defence of the Nine Realms. We stand now as three realms combined, with the small help Midgard can offer as well."

"So what's our play," Steve nodded. "Do we know where the Aether is?"

Odin shook his head. "There is speculation only. Some say it resides now at the roots of Yggdrasil itself, with the Norns." He sighed. "We do not know, truly. Our best chance is to eradicate the Dark Elves, as my father tried to do thousands of years ago."

"How many would you like to send to Alfheim, my lord," Fandral asked a moment later.

Odin paused. He turned to his left. "That will be up to Queen Freyja. She knows the forces of the Light Elves better than us."

"Fandral should take a battalion at least," Freyja advised. "He has accompanied us to Alfheim before, and knows the people. From there we will study the lore books and see if anything else useful can be learned from the Light Elves long history with their Dark cousins."

"Good." Odin nodded. "So be it."