Sequel: Fire and Ice ›
Status: Completed. Please continue on to the sequel. Thank you!
Summer and Frost
A Gilded Cage
Nina
The guards escorted me to my new chambers, which were surprisingly close to where Loki’s had been before I left for Midgard. If I stood in the doorway of my chambers I would be able to see his at the very end of the hall. I doubted he still resided there, however. His new position as king of Asgard had undoubtedly promoted him to grander chambers.
My new chambers were spacious, much larger than the room where I slept when I lived in the palace before. A large four-poster bed was its centerpiece, gauzy golden curtains hanging from it, billowing ever so slightly in the breeze from the open balcony doors. I hadn’t had a balcony before, either. The duvet on the bed was also gold, the sheets made of white silk, and I suspected a tribute to my colors. Thor’s were red and gold, Loki’s green and gold, and mine white and gold.
I stepped into an adjoining room, where my bathroom was, and gasped. The tub was sunken into the floor, gold tabs gleaming in the light cast by the sconces. I left that room quickly. I would have to explore it later. I walked into the next room, where rows upon rows of dresses sat, yards of rich Asgardian fabric. Even when I lived here, I had never seen so many dresses in my closet.
It was a gilded cage that Loki had placed me in, and one I doubted he would let me leave very often. I found myself growing angry as I strode back into the main room and collapsed on my bed. I didn’t think I would be able to stay here for much longer without confronting Loki. Surely he didn’t think the embodiment of summer and fire could possibly be contained in her bedchambers forever, no matter how lavish the bedchambers may be.
I fought the urge to storm out of the room and track Loki down. I wanted to shake him, to make him see that harming his brother was not the way to prove he was a capable king. The people would never accept him as a true king, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before Loki felt it necessary to use force to make his people submit to his rule.
Before I finally drifted off to sleep, still dressed in my Midgardian clothing, I vowed to myself that even if everyone bent the knee to the silver-tongued god of Mischief, I would never submit.
Loki
I returned on the Bifrost shortly after having told Thor the lie that would ensure he would never return to Asgard. To him, Odin was dead, and dear mother Frigga wanted nothing to do with her disobedient son.
Thor and Nina had always been the same. Their sentiment drew them together in ways that made Odin believe that they would make the perfect future king and queen of Asgard. They reeked of emotion, of weakness and sentiment. I saw it in Nina’s eyes as soon as she set foot in the great hall.
And for a moment, her warm hazel eyes almost looked hopeful, as if she expected to see the same foolish young man that was so far in my past I could scarcely remember him. He was weak. He cared for a girl who’s warm would never be compatible with his own true nature. He would have broken her. And part of him would have been sad for it.
Now I wanted to break her will to resist my rule. It was clear as soon as she set foot in Asgard again that she shared the idea that I was not fit to rule. One way or another, she would soon be singing to a different tune.
I walked past her door late into the night. The guards nodded at me as I past, acknowledging that the goddess was in her chambers where she belonged. I had plans for her the next evening that would help solidify my rule and ensure the support of the Asgardian people. For what swayed people more than a famously beautiful woman?
The guards escorted me to my new chambers, which were surprisingly close to where Loki’s had been before I left for Midgard. If I stood in the doorway of my chambers I would be able to see his at the very end of the hall. I doubted he still resided there, however. His new position as king of Asgard had undoubtedly promoted him to grander chambers.
My new chambers were spacious, much larger than the room where I slept when I lived in the palace before. A large four-poster bed was its centerpiece, gauzy golden curtains hanging from it, billowing ever so slightly in the breeze from the open balcony doors. I hadn’t had a balcony before, either. The duvet on the bed was also gold, the sheets made of white silk, and I suspected a tribute to my colors. Thor’s were red and gold, Loki’s green and gold, and mine white and gold.
I stepped into an adjoining room, where my bathroom was, and gasped. The tub was sunken into the floor, gold tabs gleaming in the light cast by the sconces. I left that room quickly. I would have to explore it later. I walked into the next room, where rows upon rows of dresses sat, yards of rich Asgardian fabric. Even when I lived here, I had never seen so many dresses in my closet.
It was a gilded cage that Loki had placed me in, and one I doubted he would let me leave very often. I found myself growing angry as I strode back into the main room and collapsed on my bed. I didn’t think I would be able to stay here for much longer without confronting Loki. Surely he didn’t think the embodiment of summer and fire could possibly be contained in her bedchambers forever, no matter how lavish the bedchambers may be.
I fought the urge to storm out of the room and track Loki down. I wanted to shake him, to make him see that harming his brother was not the way to prove he was a capable king. The people would never accept him as a true king, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before Loki felt it necessary to use force to make his people submit to his rule.
Before I finally drifted off to sleep, still dressed in my Midgardian clothing, I vowed to myself that even if everyone bent the knee to the silver-tongued god of Mischief, I would never submit.
Loki
I returned on the Bifrost shortly after having told Thor the lie that would ensure he would never return to Asgard. To him, Odin was dead, and dear mother Frigga wanted nothing to do with her disobedient son.
Thor and Nina had always been the same. Their sentiment drew them together in ways that made Odin believe that they would make the perfect future king and queen of Asgard. They reeked of emotion, of weakness and sentiment. I saw it in Nina’s eyes as soon as she set foot in the great hall.
And for a moment, her warm hazel eyes almost looked hopeful, as if she expected to see the same foolish young man that was so far in my past I could scarcely remember him. He was weak. He cared for a girl who’s warm would never be compatible with his own true nature. He would have broken her. And part of him would have been sad for it.
Now I wanted to break her will to resist my rule. It was clear as soon as she set foot in Asgard again that she shared the idea that I was not fit to rule. One way or another, she would soon be singing to a different tune.
I walked past her door late into the night. The guards nodded at me as I past, acknowledging that the goddess was in her chambers where she belonged. I had plans for her the next evening that would help solidify my rule and ensure the support of the Asgardian people. For what swayed people more than a famously beautiful woman?
♠ ♠ ♠
This makes me laugh.