I own nothing but the OC's Ella and Aisling. ALL HAIL THE GODS OF MARVEL! This had been the most fun I have ever had writing a story… so thanks everyone for making it so awesome. You guys truly rock!

Enjoy~

Epilogue

He walked through the garden, the small child sometimes following close behind, sometimes running circles around him. Now and then she would stop completely to smell the different flowers in the vast gardens behind the palace. He smiled as he watched her run here and there, her raven colored hair flowing behind her in endless curls as she ran from one flowing bush to the next, taking in every single scent of the garden.

She stopped, watching him for a moment before raising her hand in an ecstatic wave. He raised one hand in response to her, walking slowly to the padded lounge next to one of Ella's favorite flowering bushes. Loki looked away from the child briefly to look at the beautiful blossoms on the plant. The smell of them reminding him of Ella's skin and he closed his eyes.

Aisling must have sensed his mood; she was at his side in seconds. "What's the matter Papa?" she asked, taking his hand in her much smaller one. "Are you thinking about Mama again?" Although she was just barely four, she was the most intuitive child he had ever encountered.

"Yes," he replied softly. "I do miss her." The statement was simple, but he knew the child would understand the true meaning behind the words he spoke.

"Tell me again Papa." She smiled up at her father, the red streaks in her hair glowed like fire in the sunlight and he pulled at one of them, making her giggle.

"You've heard this story many times, Little One. Why must I tell you again?" He asked knowing that he would tell her the story a thousand times in one day if she wished it.

"It helps you to tell me the story when you miss Mama," She replied quietly. "And because it's my favorite."

She knew him so well. In an instant she had conjured a small chair and placed it next to his leg so she could rest her head on his knee and watch him as he told her again the story of how her mother and father met and fell in love.

He tucked a stray piece of curly hair behind her ear and smiled down at her. "Aisling, you know I was once very different from the man I am now," he began, watching her eyes light up. She loved the story even more when he began by telling her how he had once been an evil prince. "I was full of hatred and rage for everyone and everything including my family. I did awful things to people in the name of what I believed should have been mine. I was not a very good Asgardian."

"Oh Papa," she said laughing at him. "I can't imagine you ever being such a bad prince."

"I was," he said faking a scowl at her in an attempt to emphasize his point. "I was evil and cruel. I used my magic for awful trickery and I even descended upon Midgard to conquer and rule the people there."

"And that's where you met Mama?" She asked, already knowing the answer, having heard this story so many times before.

"Yes," he replied, conjuring a flower out of the thin air and placing it in her hair. It was one of the flowers from Ella's favorite plant. "I saw her briefly for the first time when I allowed the Midgardian's to capture me and take me to the agency that protects Earth from such things as I."

"Uncle Phil works for SHIELD!" She said as she always did at this part of the story.

"So he does," Loki replied with a slight nod before he continued. "Your mother was hidden in the chamber where I was held prisoner. I only had a tiny glimpse of her then." He watched the child as she twirled a piece of her hair around her finger, waiting for him expectantly. "It wasn't until after I had been defeated by the Avengers…"

"And Uncle Thor!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and holding her tiny fist in the air as if she herself was wielding the mighty Mjolnir.

Loki smiled watching his daughter. "Yes, of course," he chuckled. "Thor is part of the Avengers is he not?"

"Yes," she replied sweetly, taking her seat again. "But he's my favorite."

Loki nodded and continued. "Thor is the one that first brought your mother to Asgard. You see, when she was hidden in that chamber where I was held prisoner, she attempted to see into my mind using her own magic. But I retaliated, using my own magic to give her a good ZAP!" he poked her ribs as he said the final word, making her squeal with laughter.

She became serious again as soon as he stopped tickling her and stared up at him. "I don't like talking about using magic against Mama, I told you to leave that part out the last time!"

"Ah, but if I had not used my magic against her, she would never have known that I still lived, little one. You see all things happen for a reason. It was the bond that was left behind by my magic that allowed your mother to continue to sense my presence, even after I had returned to Asgard and she remained on Midgard." He smiled down at her, pinching her tiny cheek to make her smile once again.

"Then…" she said, eager for him to continue.

"Thor brought your mother to Asgard, hoping to convince the All-Father that his son still lived and that they must search for him at once. You see, your mother was able to determine that my mind was under the control of another when I was determined to rule Earth. I had been led astray by the thought of wielding power over others that my mind was easy prey for other, worse types of evil."

He paused in the story, wondering how much she understood of evil, only having encountered it once when she was but a tiny newborn. "When your mother came to Asgard, she knew at once that it was not Odin sitting on the throne, but myself, safely concealed in an illusion of my own creation." At the mention of the illusion, Aisling projected an illusion of herself sitting at her father's other knee.

"Yes, much like that." He smiled and touched the tip of his finger to the tip of her nose as her illusion faded. His voice became a very soft, conspiratorial whisper between father and daughter. "Only a very few know of the deception to this day."

"Uncle Thor, Auntie Jane, grandfather, mama and you!" She was bouncing up and down now, the seat at her father's side forgotten.

"And Uncle Phil," You mother was never able to keep a secret from him." Aisling bounced again and he had to put his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. "Your mother was so infuriating, such a little imp," Loki said watching his daughters face crinkle up at him in a wicked smile.

"I knew then it would be impossible for her to remain here on Asgard, knowing my secret." His magic had calmed the child enough and she sat back in the chair, regaining her composure and once again transfixed by the story. "But your mother was clever, she bargained for her safety to remain in this realm by vowing to keep my secret." He paused, knowing this was her favorite part of the story. Truth be told, it was his favorite part as well.

"Papa!" she drew the one word out like it had several syllables instead of merely two.

He chuckled softly, taking her tiny hand in his. "All that she required in return for her silence was… a kiss." He kissed the back of Aisling's hand to demonstrate.

The little girl tilted her head to the side and smiled up at her father. "Because she loved you?"

"I imagine it was something like that," Loki nodded. It was the first time Aisling had ever asked this question. He wondered how much about love the small child understood. "And because of the love that I had for your mother in the weeks that followed our meeting, I knew I could never live without her."

"But Mama left you?" Aisling said a little pout on her face now. "Why would she leave you and go back to Earth if she loved you?"

Again this was foreign territory for Loki; Aisling usually was more interested in the hero and heroine parts of the story, not the more grown up aspects that she was asking about today. "Well," he paused looking down at her. "When you love someone, you should never lie to or deceive them. I was foolish and I thought I should attempt to deceive your mother in order to keep her here with me. When she learned of my deception, she left Asgard. I thought I had lost her forever."

"But you went after her?" Aisling asked, resting her head against her father's knee now, not bothering to look at him.

Loki stroked her curls in a soothing manner, the way he did when she had a bad dream. "Of course I followed her, I told you, I loved her more than my own life."

"Tell me about when Mama died, Papa." Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough in the quiet garden. It hit him like a physical blow. This was something they never talked about and he was a little overwhelmed that the child would want to hear about it. "Please." She said, feeling his hesitation.

"We had decided to visit Earth, so your mother could see her family." He paused, feeling his voice becoming thick with emotion. He swallowed once, twice and took a deep breath before continuing. "There were beings that I had…" He shook his head, unable to continue.

"You really should not make your father tell you these things Aisling; he holds too much guilt in his heart for the events that took place that night."

The voice came from behind them, making them both stand up and smile. "Mama!" Aisling said, running to her mother's side and wrapping her arms around her legs.

Loki slowly approached her, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her slowly and deeply. Finally pulling away from her, he smiled, but didn't release his hold on her.

"My King," Ella smiled back with a slight bow on her head.

"My Queen," he replied, kissing her lips again, softly. "I thought you had decided not to return to us. You have been gone for weeks," he continued, leading her to the seat he had just vacated moments before, Aisling still clinging to her mother's leg. "How is everything on Midgard?"

"Everyone is well," Ella took the seat and began rubbing absently at her growing belly.

"And how is my son?" he asked, kneeling next to her and kissing her abdomen.

"Active." Ella laughed, feeling the baby inside her kick again at the sound of his father's voice.

Aisling patted her mother's belly. "Hello baby." Her gaze turned back to Ella's face, looking serious again. "Mama, will you tell me about the day you died?"

Ella smiled at her daughter reaching out she carefully lifted the child onto her lap. "Well, your father defied some pretty bad beings when he was all… evil and stuff. He told them he would bring them something very powerful, but he was captured by the Avengers and sent back to Asgard. He never got the chance to bring them what he promised…" She looked up at Loki, the dark look on his face made her reach out to him.

"Those evil beings found us on Earth, when we went back to visit our family there." Loki took the hand Ella offered him and he sat close to her side, listening to her voice, unable to control the shaking in his limbs at the memory. "I was trapped in a room with one of them; it stuck a spear clear through my middle. Your father tried to heal me, but he didn't have the right kind of magic. He held me in his arms when I died."

Aisling looked up at her mother with a smile on her face, an outsider would have thought the smile was sorely out of place given the nature of the story, but Ella knew her daughter all too well. "Then what happened Mama?"

"Then I started to glow, my whole body was lit from within." She kissed Aisling's nose and adjusted the flower in her hair. "You saved me. Your own special magic was able to fix me. As if nothing had ever happened to me in the first place. I don't even have a scar."

Aisling's smile grew bigger and Loki leaned forward again to kiss Ella as if to make sure she was really here with him again.

The child jumped down from Ella's lap and began singing and running around them again, happy with her own role in the story. Ella looked up at her husband. "I love you." She whispered, watching his face carefully.

"As I love you." He kissed her carefully before turning his attention back to their daughter, singing and laughing through the garden. "I cannot tolerate your absence when you return to that realm without me."

"You're King now Loki." She replied, leaning against him. "You can't just leave here whenever the urge strikes. I had to go back; I promised Jane I would be there when the baby was born. It just took longer than expected."

"And the child?" Loki asked, his attention once again back on the woman next to him.

"Healthy and… big." Ella laughed a little uncomfortably. "A boy. They will be visiting soon, once everyone is settled again. I think this will be a onetime thing for them though, I doubt highly that Jane will be willing to go through that again!"

He laughed and put his hand against her belly, feeling the child again. "I'm glad you consented to have another."

"You just wanted a boy," Ella replied, playfully poking him in the ribs.

"I simply like the way you look when you're with child." He kissed her forehead and continued to rub her belly.

She snuggled closer to him, continuing to watch Aisling play in the garden as the child conjured small bunnies to play and jump with her. Ella never imagined that her life would have this much purpose, this much meaning and this much joy. There would always be tragedy, there would always be pain and loss, but she knew that she would never have to go through any of it alone, she had her family here and her family on Earth and she was willing to take the bad with the good as long as it meant she could still have them all in her life. For the first time since her childhood she allowed herself to be happy for everything she had and not worry about what tomorrow may bring.

The End.

A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed the story! I have a few others that I'm working on as well as an Agents of SHIELD one shot that is already complete and posted. I want to give a special shout out to a few of you that have been reading and reviewing this story religiously! Zannab0801 and Chelsea Di Marco Macbeth, you guys are amazing! I would never have finished this story if it had not been for the two of you continuing to encourage me the entire way! Thank you, thank you, thank you!