FINALLY

This chapter took me probably four hours to write. But after countless minutes of staring at the screen, Pinterest breaks, stomach cramps and subsequent chocolate hordes, counting the number of pages I have written, I present to you: Part 6. 

When I was shopping today with my sister and mom, "Talk Dirty" came on over the radio and I was basically running around crying because that song is like, one of my least favorites ever, BUT IT GETS STUCK IN MY HEAD SO EASILY.

Hope you like it!!!!! 

Edit (me)

(I have some REALLY AWESOME non-chapter edits that Fandominion so kindly made for me, which I shall soon be putting up on my Instagram. SO AWESOME. 

Music

The Chain (Fleetwood Mac); Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas) (queue the Supernatural fans); Boys Will Be Boys (The Three Musketeers)

Part VI

There are times when having Natasha Romanoff around is very helpful. 

But she's not there, not when Max takes Thea into the living room early the next day, sits her down on one of the squashy couches across from an elaborately decorated bar, and very reluctantly, very cautiously, breaks the news to her that she's going to Asgard that very night. He hardly gets to say a single word actually, but the cogs in Thea's head are already spinning, and she easily deduces what he's going to say. Her lip trembles, and she whispers, "Do you...you and Kyle think that I'm hopeless?" 

Max immediately looks pained, "No, Thea, of course we don't think tha—"

"YES YOU DO! AND I'M NOT GOING!" And before a stunned Max can say anything else, she runs, crying, from the room. 

Sighing, Max gets up and walks down a flight of stairs, to where Kyle and Tony are sitting on couches, talking quietly to one another.

"I'm going to take it from the yelling that it didn't go too well," says Tony.

Max isn't paying attention to Tony, "Kyle, did somehow or another you put into Thea's head that she's useless?" When his brother looks at him guiltily, Max groans, putting a hand to his forehead, "Damn it, Kyle!" 

"Okay, in my defense, I was really angry at her at the time," says Kyle defensively, "And I didn't mean it." 

"Well then go find her, and tell her that. And while you're at it, convince her that yes, she is actually going to Asgard, because she seems to think that she isn't."

"Fine," Kyle gets off the couch and gulps down the last of the water from the glass on the table in front of him, "Tony, where is she?" 

"I'll track her down on the cameras in a few," says Tony, reaching for his iPad-like device that is also on the table, "But you might as well try her room first. She might be in there. It's a shame she's leaving tonight, though. Heard from Banner that he's coming back in tomorrow. He'll miss her by hours, and you know, both of them have trouble controlling their temper, so it might have been good for her or something." 

"What a pity," says Kyle as he walks out of the room. 

*

Kyle doesn't find Thea in her bedroom, but after a text from Tony, he finds her in one of the other spare bedrooms on one of the lower floors. She's sitting on the floor on the other side of the bed, leaning against the bed and still crying. 

She hears Kyle walking up to her and when he kneels down next to her, she sobs, "Please don't make me go to—"

"First of all, before we get into that," says Kyle, "Let's clear something up. You are not hopeless, because you are the epitome of hope. Somewhere in there, there's that happy girl that I once knew and that occasionally got on my nerves."

"B-but you s-sai—"

"Oh, c'mon, I was angry, and if you haven't noticed, when I'm angry, I tend not to say things that I don't mean. So that's clear then?" He takes her chin in his hand and moves it up and down playfully. Thea doesn't look amused, but at least she's not disagreeing. 

Satisfied, Kyle says, "And moving on, yes, you are going to Asg—ah, ah, ah, let me finish talking," He holds up a finger when Thea opens her mouth, "Yes, you are going to Asgard. You are not, as I have just affirmed, hopeless in any way, shape, or form, but Max and I don't think we can help you anymore." 

"Asgard will just make it w—"

"Hey hey hey, I'm still talking here," says Kyle mildly. "Asgard will make it better, and if it doesn't, then we'll try something else. I know you don't want to go, and believe me, I don't want you to go either. But even I have to admit that just maybe this is a good idea. C'mon, Missy, you need to try this out." 

Thea continues to cry, and then, she looks up at Kyle, and her eyes are round and scared, "Does Thor know? Do he and Loki know abou—"

"Tony hasn't contacted Thor yet, so I imagine not."

Thea grabs Kyle's arm and, still sobbing, begs, "P-Please don't tell them! Please don't, he'll-he'll kill me!" 

"First of all," says Kyle sternly, "There is probably only one person in this world that Loki would not kill, and that person is, in fact, you. And second of all, c'mere," Kyle wraps his arms around her as she cries, "We won't tell them, I promise. There's really no reason for them to know. I promise," Kyle smiles at her, even though he's not really happy himself, "I promise you, Thea."

*

After lunch, Tony (who is still eating some potato chips) pokes his head in Thea's room, where she is sitting at the window and looking out, down into the streets. "Hey, you've got a visitor. Want me to send him up?" 

Thea turns around, frowning. Jack is still in school for at least a little bit, so...Understanding comes over her and she looks at him, then nods. Tony gives her a thumbs-up and then walks out of the room, whistling. 

Minutes later, Thea opens the window and Peter climbs inside. Not even taking off his mask, he shakes his arms and rubs them, "Brrr, it's getting chilly out there already and it's only August!" 

Thea look outside and takes a deep breath of the crisp air. It's soothing to her, even if it is cold, and she only closes the window because Peter looks quite chilled. 

"So, I hear you're going back to Asgard, and I brought something for you," he says, finally taking off the red and blue mask. His nose and cheeks are slightly flushed, and he runs his fingers through his ever-messy brown hair. He takes off his backpack, tosses it on her bed and begins to rummage through it. As Thea watches, he takes something out of the front zippered pocket, and as he holds them up, she realizes that they're small black gloves. 

Peter perches criss-crossed on the bed and hands them to her. They're leathery, but are full of little ridges ensuring that they can grip things easily. As she inspects the fingertips, which feel different than the other parts, Peter explains, "Those tips are fire resistant, but they'll stick to your skin so they won't burn your fingers, or at least not as much. Here, put them on," He's so enthused, he helps her slide the gloves onto her small hands, "I put some polyester inside so that it keeps your hands warm or cool or whatever. And, hey, do you still have that stiletto sleeve thing that Natasha gave you?" 

Thea nods and, opening her nightstand, rummages through the drawer, careful not to poke herself on something sharp, and then takes out the black sleeve. It doesn't have any weapons in it at the moment, so hangs limp in her hand. 

"Thanks," Peter takes the sleeve and then, taking her left arm, pulls it on. Thea, for the first time, notices small little hooks on the glove that Peter hooks onto the sleeves outer ridges, "There you go. Now you have the full-sleeved look." He sits back, evidently very pleased by his handiwork, "Go ahead and try some of your fire stuff." 

Thea licks her lips and then, taking a deep breath, concentrates on the fluid feeling tingling at her fingertips. Suddenly, a tiny flame bursts from the ends, and her eyes widen. Although the flame sputters out seconds later, the fire had not burned her skin. 

She smiles up at Peter, who looks delighted, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Peter has a rather mischievous look in his eyes, "So I know you're technically not supposed to be going anywhere, but how about we go surprise Jack when he gets out of school and then get ice cream? There's this new place that just opened down the road from the school, and I don't know about you, but I really want to try the Chocolate Rocky Road flavor." 

Thea glances at the closed door of her bedroom. She immediately feels a bout of anger directed at those making her go somewhere she decidedly does not want to go. "Yeah, okay," she says, leaning over the bed to get her jacket from the floor.

"Are you gonna tell anyone where you're going?" asks Peter.

"No."

Peter raises an eyebrow, "Okay, well are you su-"

"Yes."

"Oooookay then," says Peter, looking hesitant. "You ready now?" He reaches forward and zips up Thea's jacket even though she halfheartedly tries to smack his hand away, "Just warning you though, if Max or Kyle try to lock me in jail, then the blame is totally on you." 

*

Peter and Thea stand in the rather large courtyard in front of the high school that Jack attends, Thea sitting on a bench and looking around at all the students eagerly emptying the school, and Peter pacing around the bench, going through some shutter settings on his camera. His Spider-Man suit is safely stuffed in his backpack that is now sitting next to Thea. It's rather loud around here, particularly as the area gets more and more crowded with students, not to mention the already-crowded environment of the street.

Thea spots Jack first as he walks out of the glass doors, talking to some other boys, all of whom are shorter than him, and laughing, swinging his backpack over his shoulders. Peter notices her look and then turns and spots him. 

Peter cups his mouth in his hands, "HEY, JACK!" 

Jack looks up from his buddies and grins when he sees Thea. He says something to the other boys and then practically bounces over to Peter and Thea. Totally ignoring the older boy, Jack throws his arms around Thea, "Thea! What are you doing here?"

"Well hey to you too, bud," says Peter dryly. 

Jack thumps Peter on the back, and then repeats, "What are you guys doing here?"

"I kidnapped Thea from Stark Tower," replies Peter, putting the camera strap around his neck, "How was school?"

Jack smirks, "Aced the trig test, thank you Dad."

Peter rolls his eyes, then adds, "You know, it's mostly thanks to me that you did pass it."

"That is a bloody exaggeration. Right, Thea?"

Thea holds her hands up as if informing them that she is not getting in the middle of it. 

"Moving on from where I'm right," says Jack, ignoring Peter's look of exasperation, "What are we doing?" 

"Ice cream," says Peter.

"Bloody hell, are you talking about that one place past 5th that just opened?" Jack is so excited, he begins bouncing up and down again. 

"That's the one."

"Then what are we waiting for, peasants?" demands Jack, taking Thea's arm and steering her down the street, "We have ice cream to devour!" 

It's about an hour walk to Crimel's Ice Cream Parlor, which is actually only a block and a half from Stark Tower, but Thea actually enjoys it, walking in between the two boys and listening to them talk about their days ("I'm telling you what, if I have to explain one more time about the symbolism in one more book, I'm going to have Sam fly the bloody books up to the North Pole and then drop them there," says Jack spiritedly, who apparently has absolutely no qualms whatsoever about taking Thea to ice cream without any adult permission) and looking around the bustling city. She is mostly quiet, but Peter and Jack easily keep up the conversation, and both boys know that she is having at least a little fun.

The ice cream parlor is very busy, mostly with kids who have just gotten out of school, like Jack. Peter takes one of the small menus from the door, and as they stand there in line, hands it to Jack saying, "I already know what I'm getting."

"Do you now?" asks Jack as he holds the menu out so that Thea can see too. After studying the menu with theatrical concentration, complete with his characteristic arched eyebrows, Jack says, "All right, I'm getting the Mint-Choco bowl. Thea?" 

"I'm getting this," says Thea, pointing to the Vanilla Bean Supreme, "As long as I can get a bite of both of yours." 

"Square deal," says Peter, putting his hands in his pockets. 

"Only if I get some of yours," says Jack. 

Thea pokes him, and he pokes her back. They are interrupted by an all-out poke war when Thea's phone begins to ring rather loudly. Taking it out of her jacket, she suppresses a groan as Max flashes across the large screen (Tony had kindly supplied her with an iPhone 6s when she got to the Tower) , as well as a picture of her and Max at a carnival from last February. She, Kyle, and Max had just walked out of the horror house, and Max had suddenly grabbed her, startling her into a laugh when Kyle had snapped the photo. She tries not to think about that happy memory as she stares at the screen, wondering what she should do.

Peter solves the problem, "Lemme take care of that," he says, taking the phone from her (very grateful) hand. 

"Heloooo?"

His high-pitched, overly British voice makes Thea giggle and Jack roll his eyes. 

Peter yanks the phone away from his ear as if it burned him and gives it a look of utter terror; Thea and Jack can plainly hear Max's very loud voice emanating from the phone even though it's already a little loud in the shop. Peter exaggerates tentatively putting the phone to his ear again much to the delight of the two younger kids, "Um, sorry?"

More very loud talking. Jack snorts and pats Peter's shoulder, "Very smooth."

Peter swats Jack, "She's fine, she's fine, I swear, and Jack's here with us too. We're just getting-"

Evidently, Max interrupts Peter, and Peter makes a face at the phone. Both Thea and Jack are trying not to laugh. 

"Max, we are just getting ice cream, we are not bungee jumping or anything like—" 

There's a pause and then Peter says in a fake-insulted tone, "Max, I do not bungee jump, I swing, and furthermore, I swing with great dignity and fully certified safety standards, thank you very much."

Pause. Peter's face turns rather meek, "Okay, sorry, I'll stop joking." Pause. "No, it is not funny, I acted very irresponsible, I'm reckless, I'm—" Pause. "No, but all kidding aside Max, c'mon trust me, Thea's fine. We're in the ice cream place right now, and I'll take her home right after. You can talk to her if you want." Peter nods rapidly with an expression of utmost faux-sincerity, and then practically shoves the phone in Thea's hand dramatically. "Take it away!" 

"Hi Max," says Thea in a tiny voice, fully expecting to get yelled at too.

To her complete surprise, Max's voice is calm, "Hey Thea, are you doing okay now?"

"Yes." 

Max sighs, "Okay, look I'm really sorry about everything. I hope that you know that I don't want you to go to Asgar—"

"Max, I... really don't want to talk about this right now..." Thea says in a high-pitched voice.

There's a few seconds of tense silence. Then, Max sighs again, "All right, all right, I know. Do me a favor and make sure that you tell me if you're going somewhere next time. I would have let you go, but you gave me a heart attack." 

"Sorry."

"You're fine Thea," says Max gently, "You have fun, okay?"

"I'll try."

There are voices in the background, and then Max says, "And Kyle wants me to tell you to bring him back anything chocolate." 

"Okay." 

"Hey, I love you, kid, you know that?" 

"Yeah," says Thea, tracing her finger on the menu while Peter and Jack talk about baseball and pretend not to be listening to the conversation, "I love you too Max." 

There's a smile in Max's voice now, "Okay, see you later, Thea." 

He hangs up, and Thea locks her phone and then puts it in her pocket. 

"Okay, almost there, almost there," says Peter eagerly as the three move up in line, "Man, it smells good. Hope it tastes as good."

Peter's dreams come true a few minutes later, as the three sit down at an old-fashioned red booth at the back of the restaurant. As Peter slides in across from Jack and Thea, he digs his spoon into his mound of chocolate and takes a bite. "Mmmmmm..." sighs Peter, closing his eyes and chewing slowly. Then he says, with a mouth full of ice cream, "Oh man, this is what I'm talking about." 

"Itce reemven," says Jack, whose mouth is even fuller than Peter's. Thea makes a face at him and daintily gets a scoop of from her cup, which consists of vanilla bean ice cream, crumbled Reeses Pieces and graham crackers, and a light chocolate syrup. 

Jack swallows, "It's ice cream heaven." He looks at Thea's ice cream combination eagerly and holds his spoon out, "Can I have some?" 

"Don't take too much," says Thea, licking some of the vanilla ice cream from her spoon and then digging it into Jack's Mint-Choco. She hums appreciatively as the minty flavor hits her tongue. "Yummy."

"Want some of mine?" asks Peter, generously pushing his bowl ofRocky Road towards her side of the table. 

"Yeah, thanks mate," says Jack, reaching eagerly with his spoon after finishing his bite of Vanilla Bean Supreme. 

With lightning speed, Peter pulls the bowl away from Jack and more definitively towards Thea, "I wasn't asking you!" 

Jack pouts, but after Thea happily takes some of the Rocky Road and chews with great delight (Peter is right, the Rocky Road is absolutely delicious), Peter reluctantly pushes the bowl back towards Jack, "Only one little bite." 

*

"Thanks, Peter," says Thea, hugging him at the door to Stark Tower as Max opens the door for her (more accurately, JARVIS opens the doors after Max repeatedly yells), "And Jack," she adds, hugging Jack too, who still has some ice cream on his chin. 

"You have fun in Asgard," says Peter, "And tell us as soon as you get back, got it?" 

Thea's shoulders fall slightly, "Okay." 

"Thanks a bunch, Peter," says Max, taking over and nodding to Peter as he puts his arm around Thea's shoulder, "Sorry I yelled at you."

"Sorry I kidnapped Thea," grins Peter. 

"Yeah, don't push your luck," says Max, but he's smiling a little. Turning to Jack, he says, "If you see him, tell Clint to get his ass back here, because Tony's getting really impatient." 

"Haven't seen him for a couple days," says Jack, "But I'll comply." 

After Thea hugs the boys one more time, she reluctantly follows Max into Stark Tower. As he opens the door to the fifth floor door (the entrance that Thea used was actually on the fourth floor), he says, gesturing to the plastic bag that she is holding, "You didn't actually get Kyle ice cream, did you?"

Thea shrugs, and at that moment, the two walk into yet another casual living room, where Kyle is lounging on the couch on his computer, and Tony is sitting at a high-top table, talking quietly to Pepper. Kyle's green eyes immediately go to the plastic bag, and he swings his legs up so that he is now sitting on the couch. Rubbing his hands together, Kyle says eagerly, "What did you bring me?" 

Thea sits down next to him and takes out a small, wrapped to-go bowl of still-cold ice cream and hands it to him. 

"Chocolate Overload," says Kyle, opening the container and looking at the dessert appreciatively, "You do know what my taste buds like, don't you?" He gets up and walks into the adjacent kitchen/bar and begins to rummage through the silverware drawer. 

"You asked for chocolate," says Max, as if this explains everything, which it sort of does. 

"Here," says Thea, taking out another small bowl, this one labeled Vanilla Bean Supreme, and handing it to Max, "I had this. It's really good." 

"Aw, thanks, you're a sweetheart," says Max, kissing Thea's cheek and taking the ice cream, "Hey Ky, get me a spoon too, would you?" 

"You know, I'm starting to feel pretty abandoned over here," says Tony, who at the mention of ice cream, had surfaced from his conversation with Pepper. 

"I got you something too," Thea says quietly, "And Pepper."

"I was actually kidding, but thanks anyway kid," says Tony, getting up from his chair and eyeing the ice cream hungrily. Pepper gets up too, but first stops to give Thea a hug. 

*

Although Max hates to do it, after the miniature ice cream party, he sends Thea to her room to finish packing while Kyle begins to fry some chicken for dinner. As he does so, with great amount of gusto and spices, Max says in a low voice from where he is sitting at the barstools, "I really hate doing this to her."

"Yeah. And may I remind you that this was your idea, and not mine?" Kyle tosses some broccoli, squash, and carrots onto the skillet, hoping to grill them. "We can still back out of it."

"Not happening. We've got to do this, Kyle. I just feel bad." 

"Oh, so after she brings you ice cream, you feel bad?"

Max glares at his brother, "Do I even need to respond to that question?"

"According to the First Amendment, not if you don't want to."

"Yeah, thanks for that, so-"

He's interrupted by Tony Stark, who walks into the room with the ordinarily large amount of pompousness, "Good news, boys. I got in touch with Thor. He's coming right after dinner to take Thea with him to Rainbow Road."

"Goody," says Kyle.

"Fantastic," says Max. 

*

True to word, Thor arrives in Stark Tower that night, and Thea can hear him in the next room, from where she's sitting dejectedly on a bench. The door opens, and looking up, she sees the god of thunder himself, tall and brawny like always, along with Tony and the Calen brothers. There is still apparent sadness in Thor's bright blue eyes, but they twinkle merrily when they rest on her. 

"Thea!" Before Thea can move, Thor engulfs her in a bear hug. "It is wonderful to see you again." He doesn't mention out loud the desperation he feels as he sees Thea's deadened eyes, or the sadness in them that easily outpaces his own.

Thea, however, stubbornly refuses to say anything. Her lips are pursed together tightly in an effort not to cry. 

Kyle walks over to her and hugs her too. "See you around, Missy. Try to have some fun. You might thank us later, although I honestly rather doubt it." As he hugs her again, he whispers so that only she can hear, "You're secret's safe with me. I've got you." 

Thea shrugs, but Kyle sees the gratefulness in her eyes. 

Max walks up to Thea and kneels down in front of her. His green eyes are sad, like hers, but he smiles nonetheless. "If you need anything, anything at all, let Thor know, and he'll tell me." In the background, Thor nods acquiescently. Max looks back up at Thea, "You're going to be fine, Thea. And I hope that when you come back, when you come home, you'll at least be a little better." 

Thea hugs Max, an action that surprises everyone in the room, because Thea has been the most upset at Max recently. But he hugs her back tightly anyway and kisses her hair. Clearing his throat as they break apart, Max wipes some of the tears from her face, and says in his characteristically husky voice, "No more crying, you hear me? That's an order."

Thea tries to smile.

"Okay, says Max, ruffling her hair, "See you later." 

And then Thor takes Thea's hand and leads her to the portal room. Tony shoos everyone out of the room and pushes a lever on the far wall. There's a flash of bright, bright blue, and then Thea is gone.

*

Thor walks Thea across the halls of Asgard towards her familiar room that she had occupied on all of her previous visits. He talks absentmindedly, but Thea is not paying attention. She is staring at the ground and trying not to start crying. Thor notices that she is looking around the palace with an apprehensive look on her face, and he (correctly) guesses that she is worried that they will run into Loki. 

But they reach the room without meeting anyone except for the occasional guard or servant woman. "I'll let you get acclimated," says Thor, nodding to the surroundings, "And will pick you up for dinner."

"I already ate," says Thea in an almost accusatory tone.

Thor raises his eyebrows, "Max informed me that you didn't eat much. You might find something to eat. And don't worry, you will be sitting near me." 

This roughly translates to, You're going, but you won't have to be near Loki.

"Okay," says Thea miserably. 

Minutes after Thor leaves the room, Thea breaks down into sobs. 

*

"Unless I am mistaken brother, you brought someone back with you from Earth," says Loki as the two of them walk through the palace halls, "And unless I am dually mistaken, that someone is Thea."

"You are not mistaken," says Thor, not bothering to try to figure out how Loki figured that out, "But brother, I must tell you that I do not know if it is prudent that you attempt to communicate with her."

"Why not?" asks Loki, almost snippily, although in the back of his head, he is remembering his somewhat disastrous visit to New York. 

"Loki, Thea does not want to talk to you," says Thor, "She hardly said a word to me, and didn't even mention it, but even without mentioning it, she effectively made clear of this. I suggest that you let her have her space- the same goes for me- until we can figure out how best to help her."

There's a pause, during which Loki looks furious, but is trying to contain himself as he says quietly, "How bad is she?" 

He knows perfectly how badly Thea is doing- although not quite as much as he thinks he knows- but poses the question nonetheless. 

Thor sighs, "Brother, her eyes are empty as is, I fear, her soul. According to Max, she still suffers from the torments of the night, and from the guilt that is eating her alive."

"Have you any idea why Max and Kyle have so suddenly deemed it necessary to send her to Asgard?" asks Loki dryly. 

"I do not. I suppose we shall either find out that reason, or it is because she is so hopelessly deprived of all happiness in the world, and they think that Asgard may be able to help her."

Loki snorts, "Not if we don't try to talk to her."

"We will see," says Thor, breaking off the conversation abruptly as a page boy enters the room, carrying a scroll. 

Loki, annoyed that the conversation has been terminated, looks at the page boy with an accusatory glare. The boy, who is no older than ten, shrinks slightly at that look, but manages to find the courage to pipe up to Thor, "This just came from Ard-Ard-ig—"

"It's Ardhigiza, you foolish boy," snaps Loki. 

The boy looks like he wants to cry. 

Thor gives Loki an exasperated and scathing look, and then kneels in front of the boy. Gently taking the scroll from the page's hands, Thor says, "Thank you, my little friend. You are Niroht's boy, are you not? The one who is so advanced in fighting?"

The boy nods and says in a tiny voice, "I'm Markus." 

 In a quieter tone so that Loki, who is now leaning against a marble column, looking rather bored, cannot hear, he adds, "Do not mind Loki. He has been cranky as of late. Ardhigiza is as hard a name to pronounce as any. Thank you for your efficiency and accuracy, Markus- I shall be certain to tell your master of it. Take this as part of my gratitude, and a mark of your greatness," Thor hands the boy a slightly dulled stiletto knife that he very rarely uses, "Now run along, and I thank you once again, Markus." Thor claps the boy on the back and straightens back up. 

The boy grins from ear to ear and then runs from the room, looking at the knife with great excitement. As soon as he's gone, Thor glares at Loki.

"What?" asks Loki mildly. 

"You know what," says Thor, slitting the seal on the parchment and sliding it open, "Loki, sometimes, I truly think that the only child you are ever kind to is Thea. The only person, for that matter, and not always then."

Loki gives him a falsified smile, "Thank you." There's a short pause, and then Loki adds, "You are still in contact with Archer?"

"Indeed," Thor still looks slightly annoyed with his brother (Loki doesn't seem to care), "I shall see you at dinner, Loki." 

"I look forward to it," says Loki sarcastically, sweeping from the room. 

Thor watches him leave, and then turns back to the parchment. 

Thor, 

Thank you for your kind words and the aid that you have sent me. Your advice has helped me so much, and I hope that you know how much I appreciate it. Also, thank you for inquiring about Linthria. She and I are going to announce our engagement, and be married within the month. We are young, but I cannot truly be king without a queen by my side, and besides, there is beauty in youth. I am sorry to hear the news about Jane- I hope that all issues will be resolved quickly. 

As for your plan, although I express caution, I can't help but agree with you. I have spoken to my brother, and surprisingly, he has agreed without a fuss. He is still under house arrest, and is still a sarcastic pain, but his viciousness has somewhat gone down. Perhaps it is the death of Father that has done this to him. Nonetheless, whenever you are ready, I will accept your offer. I wrote back with expediency so that this letter would come to you right after Thea returns to Asgard. It saddens me that she is so miserable, but it is easily explained by the hell that Videl, and others of my kind, put her through. 

I hope this letter finds you happier than the one from this morning. 

Sincerely, 

Archer

PS: (You shall be invited to the wedding, certainly. The ceremony will be small, so I regret that only a few of my new friends will be able to come. Of course, I will extend an invitation to Thea, if she is willing to come. Details will come later. Regards—A)

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Please VOTE and COMMENT!

This chapter makes me emotional.

If you do not recall, Linthria is Archer's girlfriend (now fiancee, apparently). She was mentioned by him once in Three Tasks in "Archer's Tale", but never actually physically seen at the end of the book, mostly because I completely forgot her. Whoops.

Thank you, my loves! 

As my favorite substitute teacher, Mr. Adams, always says, "Go forth and do great things!"