I decided that I am not leaving my room for the rest of the today and just keep avoiding Loki by staying in. "Great, I have been to Asgard almost a day now and I am already fighting with one of my brothers and the other one left with my fiancé to who knows where.", I think to myself. My plan was to just pout in my room, but I guess my stomach has a different plan. I am getting hungry and so is my little girl.
I pick up Nanna and tell Funí and Taran that we are going to go and find something to eat. They both bow and fly outside. I walk around for a while and finally end up to the kitchen. There are staff there and they look me funny when I get inside and ask if there is any food that we could have. One of the chefs come to me and asks me what I would like to eat. "You don't have to do anything for me, I can fix something up myself. Nanna usually eats just porridge and I eat what is left in the fridge, so don't worry about me.", I tell him. He smiles at me and answers, "Your highness, it's our pleasure to make you some dinner. Your brother and his assistant Deliah are already dining in the other room. Would you like to join them? We will bring you something to eat momentarily.". I tell them that we rather eat in our room. He nods and tells me that they will bring us food soon. "Is Sir Barnes joining you tonight or are the warriors still on their quest?", he asks me before I leave and I answer him with a hint of sadness in my voice, "I don't know where they are or when they are coming back. I think that it is just me and Nanna for tonight.". The chef nods and assures me that they try to be as quick as they can with our food. I tell them to not worry about it, we will be alright.
After having some dinner and putting Nanna to sleep I sat down by the window and just keep thinking about Bucky. Where are they and are they alright? How could he leave like that? At least he could have left a note or wake me up to tell me what's going on. I hope that he isn't hurt. I am deep in my thoughts when I hear a knock on the door. I ask them to come in and I see Loki walking towards me. "So, your bodyguards have left?", he asks quietly when he realizes that Nanna is sleeping, "Maybe this is a good time to talk since none of us can really shout or scream.", he continues. I laugh a little and nod to him. I tell him to sit down next to me and we start to talk. He tells me how they met with Deliah and how much she has helped him in the palace. He has grown quite fond of her. I tell him my side of what happened, and he tells me that Deliah is sorry for what happened. He says that she really was just trying to help.
We end up talking about me and Bucky. "What did you mean by 'failing relationship'? You asked me if the reason for me to hate her is my failing relationship.", I wonder out loud. Loki sighs and then looks at me. "I have just noticed that Bucky spends a lot of time here or with Thor on quests. I know that you haven't been on missions because of Nanna so you two must be separated a lot. I am worried about you and your little family, because I know that some people have seen Bucky spending a lot of time with Sif also.", he tells me. I am baffled. What does he mean by spending a lot of time with Sif? I know that Sif likes Thor, so she isn't trying anything. Is Bucky looking for someone new? Doesn't he love me anymore?
Loki realizes that he has made me think about things that I wouldn't have otherwise thought of. "I am sorry if I said something to upset you. I have just talked with Deliah, and we thought that you should know what is going on in here while you are at home with Nanna. I truly wish that everything is good between you two. You know that right?", Loki says. I look at Nanna and apparently my mind is getting along with what Loki is saying. "What if he doesn't love me anymore? He is always away, and we don't even talk like we used to. For the most of Nanna's life, her father has not been there for her. What if she ends up like me, growing up with no family?", I am now leaning on Loki's shoulder and I start to cry.
"Nanna will never grow up without family! You are there for her, so are Thor and me. You also have a family in Midgard.", he comforts me. I knew that, but lately I have questioned myself as a mother and a fiancé. What if I am doing everything wrong and that's why Bucky is never around? I know he told me that it's because of his fears and doubts, but what if it's because of me. I am now just sitting there next to Loki, sobbing. "Why didn't he wake me up before he left? We were supposed to come here to take a vacation as a family and he just left us. I feel like I am always alone with Nanna. I can't do this anymore, not like this.", I tell Loki. He hugs me and promises that everything will be alright, and that Bucky will come around. We sit there for a while and then Loki leaves me so that I can go to sleep.
I lay on the bed, staring the ceiling. I don't know what time it is when I hear the door open. Loki runs to my room and informs me that our warriors have returned, but someone got hurt. Nanna woke up because of Loki's entrance. I pick her up and follow Loki to the downstairs. We are waiting for the warriors in the main foyer. I see Thor walking in, and he has Fandral and Hogun leaning on him. Volstagg comes after them and he is limping. Bucky walks in also with a limb but he is carrying Sif in his arms. She looks like she has been beaten up pretty badly. "Halla, can you do something?", Thor asks while Bucky lowers her on a table. I look at Sif and Bucky and then to Loki. Loki sees the look on my face, and he realizes what I am thinking. "Halla, now is not the time. Please do what you can.", he begs me. Bucky looks at him and me and asks, "What are you talking about. Hailey please, you need to heal her. Just like you healed me when battling with Hela.".
I keep looking at her and holding Nanna in a tighter grip. What if she is the reason that Bucky is pushing me away? What if there is something between them? Then a voice inside of my head tells me to take a grip of myself. You are not that petty. Do what you can!
I give Nanna to Loki. "Do not let go off her!", I whisper to him. He knows why I said that; Deliah has also joined us in the foyer. I walk to Sif and get down next to her. I try to use my powers, but my feelings are stopping them from working properly. I start to cry and when a tear falls on my hand I realize what I need to do. I stand up and I start to hum loudly. Thor and Fandral are both objecting this way of handling things. I stop humming and look at them. My eyes are fiery, and you can see the flames in my eyes. "Shut up!", I yell at them, and they actually take a step back.
At that moment, Funí, Taran, Spjalli and three other phoenixes fly in, and they are now flying above Sif. I start to hum again, and Sif's body starts to float. She is unconscious so she has no idea what is happening. With my powers I lift her closer to the phoenixes and by listening my humming, all six of them start to cry. Some of the tears look like fairy lights in the air and they are, by magic, floating towards everyone that has been hurt. Most of the phoenix tears drop on Sif and her body starts to glow like gold when light hits it. I lower Sif and step closer to her. I put my hands above her body. In mere seconds, she opens her eyes and starts to sit up. I lower her down to her feet and she is gasping for air. Everyone is amazed and they keep looking from their own wounds that have disappeared to Sif and to me.
Everyone looks like they are back to health. Thor went to hug Sif, and the Warriors Three are patting each other's backs. Everyone seems relieved. I look at Bucky and he is smiling at me. He is standing there with his arms open. I think he is trying to tell me to go and hug him. I walk to him, slap his face with my palm and walk to Loki. I pick up Nanna and leave. Everyone is looking after me with confused face. Bucky is holding his cheek. Obviously, the slap didn't hurt him, he is just confused.
"I think you better go after her.", Thor says. Bucky makes sure that Sif is alright and after that he follows me to our room. I am trying to calm Nanna down and put her back to bed, but she won't stop fussing. Bucky comes in. He stays a little further away from us. He sits down on the couch that is in our room. It takes me almost an hour to get Nanna to sleep and I know that after that, I still have to talk with Bucky, and I am already exhausted.
I put Nanna to her crib gently and kiss her for good night. I look at Bucky who is still sitting on the couch looking at me. I sit on the chair close to him. He looks at me with face that is full of questions. "I'm sorry that I slapped you. But how could you just leave? We were supposed to come here, spend time as a family and you disappeared on the first day. You could have woken me up and asked me or at least told me. You could have written a note or something!", I snap at him quietly. I take a breath and continue, "Do you have any idea how it felt to wake up and you weren't there. Besides when I woke up, there was a stranger in the room close to Nanna and stroking her cheek, while she was crying.". Now he is taking a turn to look at me and then to Nanna and back to me. "There was someone here? Is she ok?", he asks.
I explain to him that Deliah had come to the room uninvited and how the phoenixes reacted to her. "Are you kidding me? She has been a huge help at the palace. She helps Loki run the kingdom and you are snapping at her for trying to calm our child down.", he reacts to what I told him. He is shaking his head. "There was something off about her. I can't put it in words. I know this sounds crazy and overly protective. All I know is that I have never met her, I don't know anything about her, and she was not invited to touch my baby!", I respond and stand up. Bucky then stands up and is almost yelling at me, "Well if you would keep in touch with people here, you would know what happens in your kingdom.". I look at him and he realizes what he said. "Hailey, I didn't mean...", he starts, but I interrupt him.
"What did you just say to me? You do remember that I was taken away from here as a child. I have spent my entire life in another realm. I don't have friends here like you. And you may not have noticed, but for the past six months I have been taking care of our child, while you have been away who knows where. And when you weren't here in Asgard, making friends, you were on a mission with the Avengers. It is a miracle that your own child even recognizes you. You left us alone! You left me alone when I needed you the most. You left your own child! And you are now accusing me for not keeping in touch with the life in here. What life? All I have in here are my brothers who apparently don't trust me.", I respond to him yelling. I shake my head. "Do you know what I have been through? Do you know what it feels like to put her to sleep and just sit there crying and wondering if you even come back home alive? I have been trying to raise our daughter by myself and what are you doing; mingling and finding more interesting people to spend time, right? Like Thor, the Warriors Three, your girl Sif and can't forget the precious Deliah that has saved the whole realm. What the fuck Bucky? I don't deserve this. Your daughter doesn't deserve this!", I am yelling at him.
Bucky starts to say something, but Nanna wakes up again and starts to cry. Bucky steps forward but I step in between them. "Don't you dare! Are you trying to make me think that you care about her when her whole life, you have been away? Don't try to act like her father when you don't know anything about her! Just go away, that's what you are good at, aren't you?", I tell him. I go to pick Nanna up. I turn to him and keep Nanna from looking at him. He's normally neutral face is now showing remorse, guilt, and pain. I know I said things that were there just meant to hurt him, and I think I managed to do that.
I start to cry holding Nanna and just fall to my knees. He comes to us, gets to his knees, and pulls us into a hug. "I can't do this Bucky. Not anymore. I can't do this alone. I need you. We need you. You can't just leave without saying anything and go for a quest where you can get killed. I need you to put us first.", I am sobbing while we sit on the floor, and he holds us in his arms. "You know that I can't just sit around and wait when I know that I could help others.", he tells me and continues, "And what comes to Sif being 'my girl', doll, you have my heart, my soul and my everything. I do not have, nor do I need anyone else.".
Nanna starts to calm down. We are still sitting on the floor at the end of the bed leaning on the bedframe. Me and Nanna are cuddled up to Bucky and he is holding us in a tight grip. I am still crying, and he tries to calm me down by stroking my hair and kissing my forehead. "I'm sorry about everything. You two deserve more than I have given you lately. I promise that I try to be better father for her and better fiancé for you. You two are the most important things in my life and I can't imagine my life without that little angel or without you doll.", Bucky whispers to me. I just push myself and Nanna closer to him and slowly we all fall asleep right there.