Chapter 18

                                    

                                          
I go to the bathroom to freshen up and when I get back in the living room, some other guests have arrived. Two garment bags hang on the coat stand and I'm surprised to see they belong to Captain America and a woman who I take to be his girlfriend. Thomas will be so disappointed.
                          
"Nice to meet you, madam," the Captain says in his familiar voice. "I'm Steve Rogers."
                          
"Nice to meet you too," I reply. "Please, call me Ylva."
                          
"Only if you call me Steve."
                          
"Ok, Steve it is. Nice beard by the way."
                          
The woman introduces herself as Sharon Carter. "I love your hair!" she compliments me and makes me turn from side to side to get a good look at it. 
                          
Dinner is served and we all take a seat at the table. I'm between Loki and Lady Eir. Thor and Heimdall sit on each end of the table and the other seats are filled by Steve, Sharon, Brunnhyld, Tova and Astera. The cooks also sit down with us, after they have put all the food on the table. There's a lamb roast, a big salmon, lots of different vegetables and two different preparations of potatoes. It looks delicious!
When everybody has filled up their plate, conversations start. I get the impression the Captain has been away for a while, but he doesn't say much about it.
                          
"So," Steve asks Thor, "I hear you are not the only king present at the gala tonight."
                          
"Yes, king Harald V from Norway will be there too. With his wife... uh... her name escaped me," Thor says.
                          
"Sonja," I add helpfully.
                          
"You know them too?" Steve asks surprised.
                          
"Yes... No, well, not really. My parents were born in Norway, so I know who the royals are," I explain.
                          
"Then we must introduce you tonight!" Thor says in his booming voice.
                          
"Oh no, that's not necessary," I say quickly to get the idea out of Thor's mind.
                          
"Why not? Don't you like them?" the God of Thunder inquires.
                          
"Sure, I like them. And they are friends of the Dutch royal family."
                          
"Ah! Holland is also ruled by a king?"
                          
"Well, not really. Holland has a constitutional monarchy. As does Norway, by the way. The king and queen have more of a ceremonial role."
And then I end up explaining the differences between a constitutional monarchy, a total monarchy and a republic to the King of Asgard and Captain America, Mister Democracy himself. They ask a lot of questions and I sometimes struggle to answer them. From the corner of my eye I can see Loki silently laughing at the situation I got myself in.
                          
After dessert Lady Eir announces it's time for the ladies to get dressed. But before we can get up from our chairs, the door opens and Tony Stark comes waltzing in. "You guys are having a dinner party without me? In my own building? I'd say that is very rude!"
                          
Thor gets up from his seat. "We did invite you, Stark, but you said you had to work."
                          
"Did I say that? Really?" Stark wonders out loud, making his way to the table.
To my opinion, he is the one who is rude, barging in like this. But last time I met him, the billionaire wasn't showing a lot of good manners either.
                          
The people at the table don't say anything, the young girls mostly looking at their hands, they prefer to keep out of it. Loki shows the strongest emotions, I can see his jaw tick. But he remains seated, looking straight ahead, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair.
                          
Tony stops next to Loki's chair. "I guess I really was working. On this!" he exclaims.
Before anyone can react he clasps his hands over Loki's wrists. Two sharp clicks and Tony quickly steps back, just in time to evade getting jumped by Loki.
                          
Thor, Steve and Heimdall immediately react, getting their hands on Loki to restrain him. Steve actually leaps the table to get to Loki. Sharon jumps up too and to my shock I see she is holding a gun in her hand. I guess there is more to Sharon than I initially thought.
                          
"What. Did. You. Do?!" Loki roars at Tony.
                          
"My job," the billionaire states simply. "You don't think I'm gonna let you live under my roof with all your tricks at hand?"
                          
Loki is seething. He spews out a few words in a foreign language and judging by the reaction of the Asgardian girls, I'd say they're profanities.
                          
"I thought we agreed he could have his powers back, at least for tonight," Thor says to Tony, his brows knitted together. "We can keep an eye on him," the God of Thunder adds, gesturing to the people in the room.
                          
"Really?!" Tony says in an angry voice. "That was going splendid earlier this afternoon. Friday almost sent in one of my suits when she detected a woman screaming on this floor." Tony is getting worked up, putting himself square in front of Thor, despite the height difference between the two men. "How is she gonna keep little Rudolph here in check if she freaks out the moment there are enough of him to pull Santa's sleigh? You told me she could handle him, Thunder buddy! I'm not seeing that," Tony says in a raised voice. Then he points at me. "You really need to step up your game, missy!"
                          
I'm just staring at him from my chair, wide eyed, not really knowing what he is talking about. Or I guess I do. I think Tony is referring to me having to keep Loki calm and happy, but he seems to overestimate the amount of control I have over Loki. What did Thor tell him?
                          
"Lady Ylva knows what she is doing," Thor says, his voice low and serious. "She can handle herself."
                          
"Uh, no I don't!" I try to argue, but the men don't seem to hear me. I try to look Loki in the eyes, but he stares right through me, his face contorted with anger. His eyes even look different, not their usual green but a more reddish brown. He looks like he's about to blow.
                          
"Alright, time to go, ladies," Lady Eir says in a strict voice, clapping her hands once. "Let's leave the men to it. I'm sure they are able to settle this in a civilized manner."
She gives them a stern look as she passes them to take me by the hand. I leave the room with her, the seamstress, the girls and the cooks in our tow. Sharon stays in the room, I guess the gun makes her one of the guys.
                          
In Lady Eirs room the tension can be cut with a knife. The whole scene has rattled us all. I am pretty mad, especially at Tony Stark. But we've got a gala to get ready to, so we need to get dressed. Every now and then we hear raised voices coming from the living room, but I can't make out what they are saying. After a short while the cooks return to the kitchen, to clean up.
                          
Tova and Astera help Lady Eir and I to put on our dresses.
"Who does he think he is, treating Loki like that?" I ask, still angry with the whole thing.
                          
Lady Eir turns her back to Tova, to let her fasten the dress. "Loki has very powerful magic, my dear. What you saw today was just child's play. If it were up to S.H.I.E.L.D. he would still be in a cell, isolated from the world. It took Thor a lot of time to convince Mr. Stark to design those restraints for Loki. Those, and Thor vouching for him, are the only reasons Loki is allowed to live among us." Lady Eir sounds a little sad, despite the strong look on her face.
                          
"But he was able to use some magic before, even when he was wearing those bracelet things," I argue.
                          
"Yes," Lady Eir admits, "but then he used his powers on you, a human. And that was strictly forbidden."
                          
"So they completely shut it down."
                          
She nods in response.
                          
Apparently Loki had found a way to tamper with his restraints, forcing Tony Stark to take them off for repairs. He only did it faster than Loki had expected.
I still don't think it's fair, but maybe I'm really underestimating Loki. I'm sure Thor and Lady Eir know him much better than I do. My gut tells me the Asgardians are mainly trying to keep Loki close to them. Keep him within the family, so to speak. Agreeing to the costs because they think they will lose Loki to darkness when he gets locked up again.
But I don't think Loki sees it that way. He probably feels like it is him against the world. And now Tony Stark and Thor have implied I am working with them, to keep Loki under control. Maybe I should not have bothered putting on this dress. Loki probably doesn't want to see me again anyway.