Chapter one: A visitor
The old and great king of Asgard sat in his golden throne, waiting for the return of his sons. He watched over the enormous space in front of him, what was the throne chamber. The big pillars held the incredible weight of all the thick layers of gold and marble that formed the odd looking castle. Asgard was a beautiful place, he thought. The skies were rich with stars from the many constellations, the nature was more pure and huge than it existed in any of the other realms, the cities were outstanding, each of them with an own castle, of course smaller than the main one and the people were stronger in body and mind. He was proud to call himself the Allfather, the protector of the nine realms. Or at least he said so.
He knew there was one person above him.
And he truly hated it.
The massive doors at the other side of the room swung open, revealing two figures that walked side by side. The left one, his one true son and king to be, was a little taller than the other. His blonde wavy hair hung slightly back from his movement, letting the morning sun shine from it with beauty. He was strong at hand, and over the years he grew just as strong in mind and decision. His son had made a lot of mistakes of reckless actions in the past, but with him learning his lesson, given by the Allfather himself, he corrected himself and that had put him back on the track of light.
A smile craved around Odin's mouth as he watched his strong promising son, Thor. Then he looked over at the other person, and the smile faded.
Loki was the opposite of Thor. His hair grew longer every day, making the black wavy locks grow more wicked as he watched them. And that smile, that wicked twisted smile on his face, made him shudder slightly. His eyes were staring right in Odin's face, that overwhelming green color that hid so much Odin would never find out. As Loki returned from the dead in the world of the dark elves, Thor made his father believe Loki changed. There was only one reason for that and the moment he thought of it his heart started to ache.
Frigga. Owh how I need you now, most of all. What do I have to do with our twisted adopted son? Loki was never as much of a son to him as Thor was.
They closed the distance between them and the throne as they strode his way. Thor lifted his chin when he spoke to his father.
'Father, you summoned us,' he spoke in his strong voice, letting his words echo against the marble and golden walls. Odin rose in his throne as they approached him in front of the massive steps leading to him. He steadied himself on his staff.
'Thor, Loki. I asked you to come, for we have an important guest coming over.'
The smile disappeared from Loki's face, just to make an 'not impressed' nod and let the corners of his mouth curl upside again as he spoke. 'That's it? Well I hoped for a bit more.'
'This is more, Loki. Do not misunderstand the importance of this visitor. We are talking about the protector of the nine realms.'
They both seemed surprised but it was Thor that spoke. 'I am confused, for I believed you hold that name, father.'
He looked down for just a moment to look back at their faces. 'Partly. I am to watch over the safety and peace of them, but I cannot control anything. There is only one person above me, one that is truly stronger, and this person is our visitor today.'
They were quiet. He continued as paced back and forth. 'So I ask of the both of you,' his good eye focused on Loki only a little bit longer, 'to behave in the presence of this visitor. Threat this person with respect and dignity, for you should know your place. Am I understood?'
'Yes father,' Thor proclaimed clearly.
Odin watched Loki, waiting for a response. He looked away, thinking. With a serious face he turned back to Odin.
'I never thought I would see the day of you kissing someone's boots. How marvelous.' The wicked smile returned and got so wide it touched his ears.
Odin grew angry, for he knew Loki would make a mess. Just before he could pronounce a word the gates flew open as one of his own guards proclaimed: 'your majesty of the golden throne arrived!'
Thor and Loki stood on the sides of Odin as he stood in front of his throne.
A group of soldiers rusted in after each other. What was odd was that they were not in straight lines, but formed a wave as seen from above. Three guards in the shiniest armor walked in, the one in the middle holding something small. The guards took their place on the sides of the space, as the special guard carefully putted the item on the center of the room on the floor. The three of them bowed over to inspect the item.
It was a flower. A lily. The guards mangled in the line of others. The room became quiet. A good minute passed.
Loki, being unable to control himself spoke. 'Most of our guest bring a lot more than just one flower. If this is all…' He was shushed by Odin. 'You do not speak again!' he hissed.
When Loki wanted to protest everyone's attention was caught by the flower. Its pedals opened, showing a white light. The light shone brighter and brighter, until the total room was filled by light. Loki had to cover his eyes with his arm to not get blind. The light faded and he dared to look again. There, were once was just a flower, was now a young woman. Her body still glowed, forming layers of clothing around her. Her hair was white blonde, and nearly fell to her ankles. Her eyes were still closed as the transformation was not done yet. Loki now noticed that she was floating in the air several inches above the ground. The layers around her formed a dress. A tight band wrapped around her breast, apart from the front, were a perfect circle was let out and edged by a golden circle that only curled open at the top. It showed the middle of her breasts, not revealing too much. The rest of the dress did not really exist of fast matter. The lower parts of the layers faded into nothing. They were pure white with a light touch of blue and green. They still shined in the light coming from her body.
Finally she opened her eyes, showing a reflection of the sky in it with all its darkness and light given by stars. She fixed them upon the Allfather. A faint smile touching her lips.
After noticing that everyone was staring at her, the Allfather bowed very deep before her. Then he strode down the steps.
'Milady Faheiya, it is all my honor to receive you as my guest. O how great it is to see you again, my queen.' He took her hand to kiss the back.
'It is great indeed to see you again, Odin Allfather.' Her voice was sweet and soft, like a whisper of the wind.
Only then did she turn her eyes on the two remaining figures standing perfectly still. Neither of them moved an inch, nor even blinked.
'Tell me Odin, did you not teach your son's it is rude to stare at someone?' She asked with a touch of humor in her voice.
Odin slowly turned around to give the both of them an furious glare. It was Thor that awoke from his trance and started walking down, bowing just like his father. 'My apologize for my behavior Milady, for I was mesmerized by your appearance. It is indeed an honor to have you here.'
'You could at least have told us it was a woman,' Loki proclaimed when his brother kissed the hand of the queen. Everyone froze and grew quiet, apart from the queen, that turned her head to look into Loki's eyes. He did not look intimidated, for he wasn't. He never liked this formal nonsense, and now he even hated it more than ever. A woman?! Why would he listen to a woman?
She seemed to know what he was thinking as she spoke. 'What? Do you not believe a woman can be more powerful than men?' She slightly cocked her head to the side, interested what he would answer.
Before he could he looked over to see Odin have a deadly look in his eyes. 'One more word…' they screamed.
Loki took the steps down and bowed very overacted. 'Of course they can, milady. Never mind my words. I was just surprised. I beg for your forgiveness.'
Not one word was meant. And she knew.
'You have it,' she answered shortly, like she wanted to get it over with. Nevertheless she kept staring at Loki until Odin broke the silence.
'My finest guards will lead you to your chambers, my queen. You will be summoned for diner. For now, I imagine you would like a moment of rest from your journey here.'
She looked at him for a moment, considering. 'Yes I would like that. Thank you for your hospitality Odin.' With that said she walked out of the room, followed by a row of guards. The other guards left as well, leaving Odin, Thor and Loki behind. Loki slowly turned around on his heels, hoping he could run. But he wasn't fast enough.
'LOKI!' Odin screamed at a deafening tone. Loki froze in his place and turned back around. He faked a smile as he innocently putted his hands behind his back. 'Yes, my king?'
Already by the choice of his words Thor and Odin felt down. Loki never called him father since he knew he was truly a frost giant. Nevertheless Odin was not finished. 'Can you never stop insulting people? Can you never just listen to what I ask of you? Can you not have respect?!'
The smile faded. He walked up to Odin to stop several inches from his face.
'No one orders me,' he spat in his once fathers face.
With that he turned around and walked after the guards to accompany the queen. Odin seemed petrified. Thor putted a hand on his shoulder. 'He is still having trouble knowing what is right and what isn't. Please father, give him another chance.'
Odin was quiet, lost in his thoughts, repeating Thor's words in his mind. Without saying anything he left to go after the party. Thor sighed. What to become of this broken family?
Faheiya was led to the chambers at the top of the castle. After a moment Loki, Odin and Thor were behind her again, not speaking to each other. Loki couldn't help himself but study the beautiful woman in front of him. With every step her hips swung from the one side to the other. Her perfectly curved body made the fabrics around her float in a magical way. Loki showed a small smile.
Once they reached the top they opened the massive doors, leading to an even larger chamber. To the left was a bed big enough for five to fit in. It was a little higher than were they entered for three steps let the way up. To the right was a balcony that had the most amazing view from this high, showing all of the golden city up to the mountains on the one site, and the endless sea to the other.
'Is it to your liking, milady?' Odin asked, hoping the answer would be yes. He didn't have anything like this, apart from his own chambers.
Despite his hope, Faheiya seemed to comsider. 'Well, it is great, but it is missing something…I know!' At that she snapped her fingers and a second later the room was changed. The bed was now holding other beddings, and layers falling over it from the ceiling. The wall on the other side was partly gone, making more space for the balcony and even an bigger view. The total room was also covered in flowers and plants, growing from pots but also from nothing, hanging over the edge of the balcony.
'Better,' she said approving her own work. She turned around to face the three.
'Is there anything that we can still do for you, my queen?' Odin asked, bowing.
She considered it. 'Yes, in fact. Firstly, from now on it is just Faheiya, for I grew tired of this queen- thing. Secondly, when will we eat?'
'I will send in my finest maid to tell you. Also, I can find you some maids to help you prepare, if you like.'
She shook her head. 'No such thing necessary.'
Odin showed a little smile. 'Anything else?'
Faheiya started toward the massive doors, holding them in her hands, ready to close it in front of them and shut them out.
'Yes. You,' She pointed at Odin, 'stop licking my feet. You,' she pointed at Thor, 'stop staring at my breast and you,' she pointed at Loki, 'stop staring at my bottom.' With that she threw the doors in their faces, not waiting for apologizes.
For a minute the three of them just stood there, paralyzed. Then Loki started to laugh. 'I like her.'
Odin gave him a deadly glare. 'You better not stare again, the both of you.' With that he left. Thor watched at Loki, shook his head with a sigh and left as well. Also Loki departed, preparing for diner.