𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔,

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝓌𝒶𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝑜𝓇

♚♛

The beep of the heart monitor had become background noise, blocked by the incessant thoughts in Wanda's head. She was there every day, for how long depended on whenever the other Avengers dragged her out to train.

'Exercise will do you good.' 'You need a distraction.'

A distraction was not going to make her forget that her brother was in a hospital clinging to his life. It was a 50/50 chance Pietro would make it, only he could save himself now.

Wanda reached to twist a brass ring around her finger, a nervous habit she had picked up from the time she had found it within her mother's belongings, only to find it missing from her hand. It was the only thing of her previous life she had managed to save, with the exception of the medallion that always hung around her neck.

She was so used to the jewellery sitting on her finger that to find it not there was discomforting. She did not need to check her rooms to see if she had left it behind, there was only one place it could have gone.

Wanda stood from the chair placed at her brother's bedside. She gently brushed his hair back off his pale forehead. Leaving the infirmary with a swift glance back at her sleeping brother, she rushed back to her rooms; she did not need to run into the Avengers right now, their tactic of distracting her was beginning to get on her nerves.

She tore a piece of paper from a notebook lying on her desk, scribbling quickly. She tossed the note out the window, not looking to see where it landed, in hopes that the lost object would find its way to her soulmate.

---

Loki sat at the desk in the All-Father's chambers. He was certain by this point that all Asgard was aware that the All-Father had been replaced by the God of Mischief, despite the appearance he held. It was no secret that despite he was not in fact the All-Mother's son, he had inherited her level head when it came to ruling a kingdom.

He no longer held an iron fist over the kingdom, allowed many things his father did not. Many former colonies that Asgard had previously conquered (Loki was not proud of this fact) had declared independence from the throne. Yet, as they became separate nations, he did not retake the land. Loki was aware it was not Asgard's to take in the first place, so he let them be.

Peace was hard to come by when it came to Asgard, yet for the first time in a long time, there was no war. A sort of treaty had been brokered between Asgard and Jotunheim, although it had been an exhausting process. The seven kingdoms were peaceful.

Sighing and standing up, Loki moved across the room; he would apparate to his room rather than walk, not wanting to be seen by a wandering servant. He wandered over to the window, lost in thought. The All-Father's chambers undoubtedly had the best view of Asgard and the stars beyond. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he was shocked to find a ball of paper buried within the fabric.

Take care of the ring, it was my mothers.

The ring in question was sitting in his other pocket, hidden from the prying eyes of Asgardian court. The palace was notorious for the gossip that made the rounds of the staff and rumours that Odin had a soulmate that was not the late All-Mother was sure to cause a ruckus.
He was not quite sure how to reply if he should reply at all. Perhaps something short, to give her peace of mind that her mothers ring was indeed safe.

He strode over to the desk and pulled a piece of parchment from the drawer. He scribbled down a message with ink and quill and wasted no time throwing it out of the window, not watching it as it floated away in the wind hopefully lost to him forever.

---

Wanda had taken refuge in the woods. The tranquillity of the tall trees gave her a feeling of contempt. Hidden among the woodland, she was safe from the pestering of the Avengers, the pitying looks of the infirmary staff and the wary glances of fear from the training agents. Everyone either held sympathy for her or coward at the very sight of her; the Scarlet Witch had become somewhat of a legend around the compound and not for the right reasons. Everyone had heard of her shift in loyalties during the Battle of Sokovia and everyone had their doubts about whether she would do it again given the opportunity.

Leaves around her picked up and carried themselves around in the wind. There was a storm forecast for that evening, with thunder and lightning starting not long after sundown.

Wanda was cutting it close; it was thirty minutes until dark and yet she made no move to go back to the compound. The longer she could hide away, the better.

A piece of crumpled paper caught itself in her hair, bringing her away from her thoughts. It was stiffer than actual paper, parchment perhaps? The writing was elegant, cursive and neat.

It is safe. I should hope I can return it to you soon.

Wanda breathed a sigh of relief; one of the only things that prove her mother ever existed, besides herself of course, had disappeared off her very finger and was likely lost forever. The note proved there was hope of it being returned.

However, Wanda did not know where this note could have come from. Parchment and writing like this were rare in most parts of the world.

It may be awhile before she could ever find out who the note came from.