We were taken to our respective living quarters in the palace. It was such a vast building we had no concerns about it housing our now very large family. Usually, we stayed in the wing Thor had built for us all those years ago, but it looked like things had changed now that Thor was stepping up as king. Angela had already vacated the royal chambers and so while the kids were all taken to their new homes in different parts of the palace (Marya, Sarah, and Zak were all just down the hall from us, while the others were in different wings of the building), we were taken there.
Back when Thor had lived here - before Angela had taken the throne, the Royal chambers had been vast and opulent. It appeared that Angela had made some changes. There were five adjoining rooms and each was large and decorated in golds, blacks, and reds. The first was a sitting area with large plush couches and a big coffee table. Around the room were bookshelves, some were empty and some were stacked with books and tabletop games.
The room had a wide arched entryway into what was essentially a dining room. A huge dark wood table filled the room and around it were enough chairs for all of us and a couple of the kids, though if we wanted a full family meal we would have to have it in the banquet hall. To one end of the living room, there was a door that led to a study that contained a large, ornately carved desk, and to the other the bedroom. A bathroom with an almost pool-sized bath could be entered from both the dining room and bedroom.
It was the bedroom that had blown me away. When Thor had lived here, he had just had a large bed. It was beautiful and bigger than a king, but not anything you wouldn't expect the king of Asgard to have. This was like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was on a platform at the end of the room, with a large rug with Celtic-style knotwork leading from the door to the platform. I say the bed was on a platform when the bed was the platform. The whole raised area was covered with a mattress that was dressed in blankets and pillows. There was a staircase that led up to it, and the full size of the thing could have fit twenty people easily.
"Holy shit..." I gasped as we entered the room. "This is the life."
"My sister has made some renovations I see," Thor chuckled. "Well, at least we do not have to worry about obtaining a bed to fit us all."
"We could marry a few more people if we wanted," Clint joked.
"Oh? You feel like you aren't getting your needs met, bird boy?" Tony teased.
"Bird man, thank you very much," Clint joked. "Wait... scratch that. Just Clint is fine."
Thor looked around as his servants brought in our things and began unpacking them. "I think we shall keep the twins in here when they are born. We can set up their cradles by the window there -" he pointed to a spot under a beautiful stained glass window in a Celtic knot pattern.
"The size of this bed we could probably co-sleep," Sam said from up on the bed platform. He kicked off his shoes and began jumping on the mattress like it was a trampoline.
"What will happen when they're older?" Wanda asked.
"Well my brother and I were raised by nannies," Thor said. "But I do not wish for that to be the case with our children. We can convert the study to a bedroom for them. Or I can have them add another room by either extending in the rooms beside these or breaking these rooms up a little."
"This is going to be a lot of getting used to," Steve said.
"Well, thankfully we have forever to do that," Clint joked.
"My lord," one of the handmaidens said, approaching Thor. "We need to begin preparing you all for the feast."
Thor gave a short nod. "Of course. Lead the way."
We were all taken to be bathed and dressed and to have our hair and makeup done. With all the trips to Asgard we'd made over the years we had become experts at it. By the time we were all done we looked like Asgardian royalty. Due to my now heavily pregnant state, I was in a pale blue empire cut dress that was made with layers of a fabric that was similar to satin, and one closer to chiffon. I had a gold cord acting as a belt just above my baby bump and on my shoulders was a gold pauldron forged to resemble wings that wrapped around me from behind. They had wound gold threads into my hair and I wore a gold diadem with a pale blue gem that sat on my forehead.
The whole family was dressed up too, not just me and my spouses. The kids all wore finary too and so did the grandkids. Seeing Paul, Teddy, and the little ones looking around in awe as we waited to be seated. Anna seemed very pleased with the dress she was wearing and kept doing little spins to see if she could catch how the skirt billowed out around her, which made Piper do the same thing with her much more simple dress.
Despite Marya being used to the Asgardian fashion, she was picking at her skirts and pulling the cloak she wore around herself. I approached her as I could hear them starting to call people out into the hall, knowing I didn't have a lot of time. "Do you want to change?" I whispered.
"Kinda," she said. "It's okay. I just... I don't really like dresses."
"You didn't have to wear one," I assured her.
"That's all they offered me," she huffed.
"Honey," I said rubbing her arm. "You're a princess. Their job is to make you happy. Just tell them you'd rather pants. At Pietro's first feast he wore a dress. They're not going to care if you don't."
"Oh..." she said.
"Do you want to go change?" I asked.
She shook her head. "It's fine."
"If you change your mind halfway through, that's fine. Loki will take you to change," I assured you.
"Thanks, mom," she said quietly.
"Of course, honey," I said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Remember, we love you for who you are, not who you think we expect you to be."
She smiled a little and gave a small nod. Her name was called and she went out into the hall. Gradually we were all called and took our seats. It was an unusual seating arrangement this time due to the nearing coronation. Angela, Thor, Loki, and Riley all sat on the raised platform where I had sat during our first feast. Me, Steve, Bucky, Clint, Natasha, Wanda, Tony, Sam, and Bruce all sat on a long table that ran just below it facing the room. In front of us was a circular table with our children and grandchildren, to the right was a round table with a mixture of members of the royal council as well as, Heimdall, Sif, and the Warriors Three, and to the left was a table full of Valkyrie - all dressed in armor. The rest of the citizens who had been granted entry to the feast were seated at circle tables that filled the rest of the hall.
Everyone stood as Angela was announced and when she reached her seat she gestured for everyone to sit. "Welcome people of Asgard. I know that these feasts to welcome the royal family when they visit from Midgard have started to become a little boring," she said, making some of the people in the crowd laugh softly. "But this time my brother and his clan have come to stay. I shall be stepping down as your ruler, and Thor shall be returning to the throne. He shall lead you until it is deemed that princess Riley is worthy of the title of Queen. I can't say I shall miss being Queen. I hope I have done the right thing by all of you, the kingdom, and the nine realms, but ruling isn't exactly glamorous work and I feel the need to roam and see the realms. So I shall be leaving you in the capable hands of my brother. We know Thor is both a good man and a good King and the transition between us should go without trouble. Consider this the last feast with me as your leader. Thor shall be crowned in two weeks' time."
There was applause but the cheers that accompanied them seemed mixed. I could see that that might be because they weren't sure to be happy about Thor's arrival or sad about Angela's departure. When it died down again, Angela clapped her hands together. "Let the feast begin!"
I knew this wouldn't be the same as the first feast we had. The ones for our visits were always more low-key and just eating roasted meats and vegetables that were laden onto the table. Large platters were brought out and placed onto tables and waiters came around with flagons of ale and wineskins filled with mead to fill goblets and tankards. The children and I were brought layered fruit drinks that reminded me a little of elderberry cordial and lemonade. A band at the far end of the hall started playing and the littlest kids at the table with my children had stood up on their chairs and were bouncing around to the rhythm as they ate their food.
"They look like they're having fun," Wanda said.
I smiled and took her hand under the table. "They do," I agreed. "You think they'll all be happy here?"
"Piper and Flynn won't know anything else," Wanda said and moved her hand to my stomach. "And neither will these two. This was the best move, Elly. You can relax."
I nodded a little and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
"You know all this stress you're holding is bad for the babies, Mishka," Natasha scolded.
"I know. I know. But it's stressful. This is all stressful. I'm trying to look at the positive, but it doesn't change that it's a lot to deal with," I huffed.
Wanda nudged me and pointed up at the table above us. "Look at our girl, the future Queen. She belongs here. She wasn't raised here but this is her home."
I turned and looked up at Riley. She was wearing a dress in a blue ombre. That had a belt that crossed over her hips and an ornate silver breastplate. A red cape was attached at the shoulders and her hair was done up in a mountain of braids that had a curl of silver laurel leaves in it. She was smiling and talking animatedly with Thor and the two of them together gave off an aura of people who were gentle at heart but protective and willing to do what needed to be done. Not only that, Riley looked happy and comfortable with herself. It made my heart warm. I hoped that the rest of us would settle in as well as she and Pietro had done. This would be our home for a long, long time.