TSOF: Revelation

All Together Again

Clint demanded Anselma give him a tour of the castle 0.23 seconds after kidnapping her. Her response was a simple no. Clint pouted and dumped her at Steve's feet. "Clint!" He admonished as he helped Anselma to her feet; she smirked at the now stuttering archer. "But-but I was just- I was-" Anselma waved a hand silencing him before turning to the supersoldier. "So," she said slowly, drawing out the word, brushing herself off and ignoring the sullen spy behind her. "Does Thor know you're here yet?" Steve ducked his head shyly and blushed a deep red. Anselma bit her lip to contain her smile. "Didn't think so." Without another word she grabbed Steve's hand and dragged him down the hall towards where she knew Charles stood as he refused to stop guarding her.

"Hello." She greeted him, smiling at his caught look. "Will you please lead my companion and me to wherever the old age villagers shop for their mother's drapes?" His lips twitched with confusion. Steve shot Anselma a warning look and turned his attention to Charles. "She means if you could please lead us to a store that sells clothes." Charles looked relieved at the simplicity of Steve's words; he nodded and turned to obey. Anselma shot Steve a wicked smile that sent shivers down his spine. He groaned softly when it finally clicked that they were going clothes shopping for him. Anselma looped her arm through his, skipping after Charles as Steve tried not to drag his heels. But if Anselma's amused look was anything to go by, he failed miserably.
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Thor's jaw dropped when he caught sight of Steve at lunch that day. Anselma beamed with pride at that while making her way to greet Natasha and Bruce. She scowled when they didn't respond as they too were staring at the blood red blond. Slightly mollified by Steve's embarrassment she admired her handiwork. Steve was dressed in black and gold Asgardian armor with a deep blue cloak hanging around his neck and over his shoulders. It was silent for a long time. Naturally Tony was the one to break it. He whistled sharply in approval prompting Anselma to grin, Loki to scowl, Thor to glare, and Steve to blush even more. Slowly Steve moved to sit next to next to Thor. Natasha turned to finally greet Anselma and froze, realizing she was dressed in Asgardian clothing too. Anselma wore a dress that was black but slipped into a deep green once it reached her hips. Two beautiful gold braclets graced her wrists, gold earrings glinted in her ears, and black heels encased her feet. All in all, she looked stunning with her black curls cascading down her back. "Wow." Natasha said, drawing everyone's attention to the teen. It was Anselma's turn to blush at all the attention. Everyone had a different expression on their faces which Anselma found fascinating. Natasha looked impressed. Clint was shocked. Bruce was frowning not liking it because it would cause guys to look at her. Steve was grinning having already seen her. Thor was smiling happily at his niece while Loki and Tony just stared at her, in awe at the young beauty that was their daughter. Anselma shifted uncomfortably when no one else said anything. "Well," she muttered once she couldn't take the silence anymore. "What do you think?" They all answered at once.

"Amazing." Natasha said as she ran a hand along the dress, admiring its beauty.

"Gorgeous." Clint muttered before reaching for some food.
"Stunning." Bruce admitted. Anselma gifted him with a soft smile.

"Beautiful." Steve grinned.

"Simply stunning." Thor exclaimed as he took his place next to Steve.

"Breathtaking." Tony and Loki chorused from where they sat next to each other, eyes glinting with joy. Anselma laughed and took the seat next to Natasha and across from Bruce who sat next to Steve.

Anselma looked around the table and frowned. "Hey Dad, where are Gram and Gramps?" Everyone looked to Loki for his response. He hesitated which worried everyone as Loki always had faith in one thing and one thing only, his words. (Hellooo, trickster.) "The All father and Mother are currently overseeing the trail of Amora and Skurge." Anselma froze at the mention of their names, eyes going distant as she remembered her time with them. Swallowing thickly she ripped herself from her memories and back into the present. "Oh," she said voice slightly higher than normal. "That's nice." Everyone watched her warily as she began placing food on her plate. She didn't grab much and ate even less as the others began talking about light topics, trying to distract her throughout the meal. She was the first one done and was quick to leave. Everyone stared after her in worry.
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Anselma needed air and headed to the garden Frigga had showed her. On the way there thoughts raced through her mind, drowning out everything else. Anselma was shaking slightly, no longer having to hide it from the others. It had started as soon as Amora's name had been mentioned. She was angry at herself for being weak. She was a Stark. And Stark's didn't let anything break them. And damn it she wouldn't let this break her.

Reaching the field she made her way to the noumenon flowers and plopped down in the middle of them. Gradually she began to relax as they hummed softly up at her. She sat there for hours and was surprised when the dark shadows the clouded her memories of Amora began to lighten. The pain she remembered faded as if it had never existed. Her mind was healing itself and Anselma had no idea how it was happening. Looking down she discovered the reason and could only stare in awe. The noumenon flowers had extended their pollen stems and had wrapped them around Anselma's wrists and forearms so lightly she didn't even feel them. They were glowing gold and through her skin she could see thin gold lines running along her veins leading up to her face. Anselma assumed they lead to her brain and smiled giddily as for the first time since being rescued her mind was clear. It was whole and no dark corners existed anymore. She threw her head back and laughed as the flowers pulled away, finished with their job.

She never noticed the others watching all of this in awe. Smiling as her laughter filled the air and hung so beautifully around them, they relaxed; somehow knowing everything would be okay.