"Stop it, Thor!" a little girl's voice wafted through the clearing. A trio of children was playing next to a perfectly clear pool. The youngest, the lone girl, was plucking flowers one by one and gathering them into a bouquet, but the biggest boy was splashing her. "Stop it! I'm telling."

"Who're you going to tell? The AllFather won't listen to a dumb girl." The boy gave a mighty splash, soaking the girl from head to toe. Still clutching her flowers as water dripped from her nose and everywhere else, the little girl tried to stifle her crying and bit her quivering lip. She tried to brush the water droplets from her precious find.

"Stop it!" the second boy commanded, marching over to his brother. "You leave her alone. She's not hurting anything, plus she's littler than us." He puffed his chest out and jutted out his chin. The second boy was pale and dark-haired, much different than his hulking blonde brother. The girl had caramel-colored skin and long silky hair.

"Shut up, Loki." The blonde boy gave him a push, laughing. "She's just a girl."

Young Loki landed on his butt in the water. Thor offered a hand, but Loki refused. "You should go home. We'll stay here and dry off so Mother doesn't get mad," he mumbled, stumbling to his feet. He knew fighting back was useless.

Thor bounded off, largely unaffected. As soon as he was out of earshot, the little girl began to wail.

Loki wrung his tunic out and went to the child. She was a few years younger than he was, and had been raised alongside them, although not one of the AllFather's children. By now the child was sitting on a rock with her face in her hands. The soggy bouquet was on the ground at her feet; tossed away in frustration.
Frowning, Loki scooped them up and shook them gently. A small shower fell onto the grass below them. "You dropped these, Chelsea."

"I don't want them. They're ruined. I was going to take them to Miss Syn for being a nice teacher but Thor ruined them!" With a soft sob, she pulled her knees up under her chin and hugged her legs tight.

Loki lowered himself onto the rock next to her. "Flowers get wet all the time. When it rains, they get even wetter than this. That's what makes them so bright and pretty." The boy nudged the girl. "Isn't that right?"

The little girl peeked over her knees at her friend. "I guess so."

Glancing over his shoulder, Loki grinned. "Here, let's make them better for you."

Chelsea sat up. She knew what was going to happen. It was their little secret, and she felt privileged any time she got to see.

With a quick flick of his long, slender fingers, the droopy, soggy flowers in Loki's hand suddenly transformed into full, dry blooms even better than when she'd picked them. Chelsea's eyes grew wide and her lips parted in wonder. She tore her eyes away from the magically blooming bouquet and studied the boy's face. He was concentrating very hard, his brows furrowing.

"Oh, Loki!" She exclaimed, taking the flowers as he offered them to her. Amazement turned to excitement. She buried her face in the blooms. "These are much better. These are special flowers. I'm keeping these forever."

"I thought they were for Miss Syn?" Loki said, a warm feeling spreading in his chest.

"Oh," the girl said, biting her lip again. "Yeah, I should give them to her." She looked up at the boy and shyly smiled. "You can always make me some more, right?"
Loki smiled and vowed to make her flowers whenever she was sad.

***

"LOKI!" a voice boomed.

Fifteen years had passed since the little girl's flowers had been drenched. Now the trio was nearing adulthood, by Asgard standard. Chelsea had celebrated her twenty first birthday the week before last, and Loki and Thor were a few years older. Their relationships had hardly changed or matured, for that matter.

"LOKI!" the call came again.

Loki and Chelsea had been spending time in their favorite courtyard, Chelsea weaving a shawl from silk and Loki's nose was buried in a book. They often spent time together, as everyone else in the realm seemed to be interested in nothing more than sparring.

"Your brother dear is coming," Chelsea said, picking at a knot in her thread.

Loki raised an eyebrow over his book. "Funny, can't hear a thing." He let his back slid further down the wall he was lounging against until he was practically lying on the ground.

Chelsea made a face at him.

"Ah, Chelsea. Where's your cohort? I wish to speak to my brother," Thor announced, strolling into the yard. "I have great news from Father!"

"I," the girl paused. She glanced to where Loki had been not ten seconds ago, "haven't seen him this afternoon. Sorry. Maybe try Lady Sif."

Thor studied her face. "I was just with said she saw you two heading this way last."

Chelsea squirmed. The boys were one thing, but she was still intimidated by Odin and Frigga. "Oh, well, I saw him in passing but don't see him here now!" Clearing her throat, she sat her weaving down. "Tell me, if you can, what is this good news?"

"Well," Thor said, plopping down on the bench beside her. "Father said there is to be a coronation in a years' time."

"A coronation? For whom?"

Thor's face fell. Chelsea had come to live in harmony with him, but had distaste for his vain ways. She and Loki delighted in tormenting him without him knowing it to make up for the constant terror he'd put them through as children.

"Why, myself! Or Loki," Thor added. He nodded enthusiastically. "To take the throne after Father. To lead the Nine Realms! He just hasn't told me which of us it will be."

"In a years' time?" Chelsea smiled politely. "That's very close. How exciting! I trust you'll find out before long."

"You'll be in attendance, I trust?" Thor smirked. "I want all of my friends and fans there." He patted her on the top of her head, ruffling her hair with his giant hands as he stood. "Tell my brother to find me when you see him next."

"Of course, certainly," Chelsea answered, barely hiding her bitterness as she tried to un-fuzz her braids as Thor bounded away.

"Oh, he's so sure Father will pick him," Loki's voice came.

"I wish you wouldn't do that. I'd hate for Thor to catch me in a lie and pass it on to Frigga or Odin." Chelsea looked around, and jumped when she found Loki on the bench behind her. "Oh!"

Loki laughed as she slapped him on the arm. "Oh, don't do that!"

Rubbing his arm, Loki halfheartedly promised, "Of course. I'll stop. But you know Frigga and Odin love you."

"Perhaps," Chelsea answered. "Yet they're royalty. I'm just a commoner, and even a souvenir." She reached for her string, but Loki caught her by the wrist. The girl looked up in surprise.

"No," Loki quickly said. "Don't you say that. You're not a souvenir. You are one of us." He stared hard into her face. "You may not be born of Asgard, but this is your home, Chels."

Chelsea pursed her lips. "Yes, I'm sorry." She patted Loki's hand.

He drew his hand away. "I mean it. Don't say that."

She took a breath to spoke, but stopped.

On the night Chelsea had come home to Asgard, as Frigga had told the tale, Odin and a few warriors had been scouting a different world after hearing word of an enemy army growing. There was an ambush and a fight. The small group of mutineers had been overthrown easily and the Asgardians stayed behind to clean up and sift through rubble they'd created.

Odin had spotted her first – a human child with soft tan skin, no more than a year old – in the clutches of a military officer. Her eyes brightened at seeing another being that had her form, but her captor held her close and snarled at Odin.

"Odin knew you had been stolen from your home," Frigga told her. "He know that planet would not be good to you. They'd stolen you for some political reason, and that was no place for a little girl."

Chelsea had been scooped up by Odin himself and brought back to Asgard. Frigga had been delighted to have a girl to watch over.

Since then, Chelsea had been raised as an Asgardian, but her true history had never been hidden from her. Although she was allowed a lesser room in the royal hall, she was not royalty. She did not attend all special events and she far fewer privileges than her childhood playmates. Odin told her of her birth world, Midgard. She'd visited now and then, but felt no strong ties to the planet. Everything she knew and loved was in Asgard. The AllFather promised her a place there with them forever, but also allowed her the option to go back to Midgard to live her days with mortals if she wished.

A troubled look on his face, Loki stood. "I've got to be going, then."

"Loki, stay. It's beautiful out!" Chelsea watched him as he disappeared into the hall, wishing he understood how she felt. This was home, but she'd never quite belong.