For Niamh. Happy birthday!
"I feel like part of my soul has loved you since the beginning of everything. Maybe we're from the same star." -Emery Allen
i. πρώτα
Diana is awoken to the news of visitors.
"Visitors?" She asks.
Themyscira has no visitors. Visitors in stories are always men, and there can be no men on Themyscira.
And yet. There are visitors coming.
"Coming from where, Mother?"
"Far away," She answers.
"The world of Men?"
Her mother frowns, as if the question has displeased her. Perhaps it has. "No. Another world."
Another realm, Diana will learn later, but for now, she is a child, with a child's questions.
"They are gods," Antiope whispers to her, as they make the walk from Mother's rooms, "of a sort."
The gods are all dead. Ares killed them. Even Diana knows that. "But-"
"Antiope," Mother scolds, in the way that only Mother can.
"She should know the truth," Antiope shoots back. "About this. About who they are."
They are the royal family from a place called Asgard. It is as paradise-like as Themyscira, but bigger. More advanced in ways that even the far away World of Men has not caught up with yet. And they are gods, but not in the same way of the ones that Diana knows. Neither Mother nor Antiope tells her the difference, only that there is one.
They wait for their guests on the training grounds, Mother's arm around her shoulders and Antiope at her back. Diana frowns-are their visitors not coming from the sea? Why are they waiting here, in the mountains? Oh, can these gods fly-
As if the thought has summoned them, they arrive in a blinding swirl of light and color and sound. Diana yelps, leaning closer to her mother. Antiope makes a noise of exasperation.
"Heimdall," she mutters, "always showing off."
The noise and light vanish as soon as they had appeared, leaving a group of people in its place.
A man! Diana thinks, delighted. And boys!
There is a woman, also, who is as regal and beautiful as Mother. It is the woman who steps forward first, to grip Mother's arms with familiarity.
"Hippolyta," she says, in a warm voice. "It is wonderful to see you again."
"And you, Frigga," Mother answers. "Themyscira is happy to welcome you and your family."
One of the boys-a boy, a real live boy, who looks her age!-darts forward. He is golden in the same way his mother is and smiles widely enough to nearly split his face in half. Diana likes him immediately.
"Hello!" He says. "I am Thor!"
The man and the other boy, pale and dark-haired, move forward together at a much slower pace. Frigga draws the other boy against her free side and runs her hand through his hair in a gesture Diana recognizes as one of comfort. That seems to relax him, a little, and he offers them a much smaller smile than his brother.
"I am Loki, of Asgard," he says, much more formal than the other boy's sunny greeting.
"I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira," she says, matching his greeting with her own. But the other boy's smile has not dimmed, and she cannot stop herself from adding, "and you are the first boys I've ever met!" At this, she turns her attention to the man. He is older than anyone she's ever seen, and imposing, with a golden eye patch that Diana badly wants to examine. "And you are the first man!"
The man smiles then and it softens his entire face. "I consider it an honor, Princess."
He lifts his head to give Mother a more serious look. "Queen Hippolyta."
"Allfather," she replies, all earlier warmth evaporated.
Diana does not have time to puzzle her mother's sudden change in demeanor, because Thor has launched himself forward to take hold of her hand.
"Will you show us the island?" He asks. "Mother says there are coves and caves for exploring and-"
"-a vast library of all of Midgard's languages," Loki cuts in, in a much more restrained voice.
Diana likes the coves, caves, and the library. How wonderful!
"Mother, may I?" She asks, practically vibrating with excitement. Boys! Her own age! Who are friendly, and seem to like her already, as she likes them-
"Antiope will go with you," Mother says.
Her aunt is never anything other than fun, so it is no hardship to nod. She takes each boy by the hand and they set off, Antiope at their backs.
Mother warns her, three days in, to be careful with the princes.
"Careful?" Diana asks. "Careful how?"
"Boys are fickle," she says, running a brush through Diana's hair, "they cannot stand the thought of one being preferred over the other. Especially boys as different as Thor and Loki of Asgard."
Personally, Diana thinks Mother is being ridiculous. She likes them both very much, for very different reasons-it is hardly a question of favorites!
Thor is all smiles, gentle despite the strength that seems out of place for a boy his size, and funny, very funny. Loki, on the other hand, is cautious and quiet, but with a wit at least as sharp as Menalippe's. Thor has been more than happy to spar with her-even though he is admittedly much better trained than she is, where Loki has seemed most comfortable pouring over the tomes in the library, though he seemed very disappointed at the lack of spellbooks to be found within. But they are neither of them entirely what the other lacks-Thor is far from stupid, no matter what his cheerful manner implies, and Loki is certainly not weak, for all that he remains pale after hours in the sun.
What puzzles her about them the most is their relationship. One minute they are the best of friends, laughing together as they race each other down the beach, and then Thor is grunting, tripping over a smirking Loki's foot and nearly cracking his head open on a nearby rock.
This, Thor assures her, is not out of the ordinary for Loki. And that his head is quite sturdy. Diana really should have been there for the time Loki turned himself into a snake, tricked Thor into picking him up, and then stabbed him! It was quite amusing!
Despite this, it startles her. Their small cruelties and kindnesses to each other.
Antiope's mouth twists when she says as much.
"Having a sibling is not always an easy thing, Diana," she admits, as they stand watching Thor try his best to keep up with Venilia in the practice arena. "No one will ever know you as they do. But no one can ever hurt you as much, either."
She thinks about this, watching Loki shrink further and further into the shadows as Thor triumphs, more golden than ever in the afternoon sunlight. Thinks about it again when Mother drifts over, draping her arm around Diana's shoulders and placing herself between her and Antiope.
But then Frigga appears and Loki brightens. Thor does, too, but it is not until Odin-the Allfather, Mother calls him, with mistrust in her voice-begins to clap that he truly shines, bright and brilliant and almost painful to look at.
Diana has never had to compete to be someone's favorite before. She is the only child on the island, after all.
Still. She likes both brothers, the light and the dark, in equal amounts. Mother is silly to worry.
Thor will not stop giggling, even as Diana shushes him. Loki rolls his eyes at both of them, but follows along willingly enough through the winding halls.
"I still do not see why we have to creep around the palace like this," Loki complains. "You are the princess, Diana, how can they forbid you anything?"
"It is not...forbidden," Diana answers. "But Mother does not like my interest in it."
"In what?" Loki presses. "I thought we had already seen all the wonders of Themyscira."
Diana frowns at his dismissive tone. She has lived here all her life and still does not think she has truly seen all the beauty and majesty the island has to offer. Thor throws an arm around Loki's shoulders, ignoring his brother's squawk of protest.
"Ignore him, Diana," he says, "Loki just doesn't like being woken up."
Accepting his explanation-and Loki's embarrassed scowl that confirms Thor's words-she continues to lead them until they have reached the courtyard, nestled deeply within the palace.
Hestia's Lasso glows faintly in the dim moonlight. It draws Loki's attention, while she watches Thor drift to the Gauntlets of Submission. He lifts a hand to touch them and winces when she snatches his wrist.
"You'll leave fingerprints," she scolds, lightly.
Thor smiles, apologetic and not, all at once. "What are they?"
"The Gauntlets of Submission," Diana answers. "And that is the Lasso of Hestia. Gifts from the gods for the mightiest of the Amazons to use against Ares."
"I thought your gods were all dead," Loki says, sounding smug. "Isn't Ares also a god?"
"Aren't you?" Diana fires back.
Loki smirks, sharp and fierce, and for the first time, she likes him a little less than Thor. "I am."
"Of what?" She asks, because she may not be a god, but she is an Amazon. And Amazons are not afraid of little boys, be they god or otherwise.
Loki's smirk grows. "Mischief."
And with a dramatic snap he vanishes, leaving Diana gaping and Thor grumbling softly under his breath.
"He really doesn't like being woken up," Thor says. "Will you forgive him his mood?"
Diana fidgets-she has never really had to forgive anyone anything, either. The other Amazons are all kind to her, Mother and Antiope protective, and they are the first beings her age she has met, the first ones who have ever even begun to irritate her. But looking at Thor's honest, open face, she finds that she can. For him, at least.
"I will," she promises. "Besides, it is his loss. He did not even get to see the Godkiller."
Thor's face lights up in interest. "The Godkiller? What is that?" She points him towards the sword, where it rests in its golden cradle. Thor examines it, eyes wide with interest. "It is wonderfully made! Who would wield it?"
Only the strongest among us ever could. And that is not you, Diana.
"Me," she says, quietly. It is something she has never dared admit aloud before. Mother has already made her thoughts on the matter very clear, after all. But there is something about the sword that calls to her. That is hers in a way she knows, deep in her bones.
Thor's hearing is as good as her own, and the way he's watching her makes it clear that he has heard her quiet response. "Yes," he agrees. "I think you will."
And then he's grabbing both of her hands, pulling her into a spin that she is helpless to resist. "And I shall fight beside you! We will be the mightiest warriors in history!"
She laughs and he does too, young and happy in the moonlight, not knowing that Thor is right.
For all the time she has been spending with Thor and Loki, it is not until the Asgardians have been on island for nearly a week that she truly speaks to Frigga.
(The Allfather remains standoffish, though whether that his choice or her mother's, Diana is not certain.)
Still. Frigga finds her in the gardens, trying and failing to pay attention to her lessons. Mother had asked Antiope to keep the princes entertained so that Diana can focus-but whether they are there or not, lessons about Socrates in the original Greek are far less interesting than the prospect of standing on Thor's shoulders to pluck apples from the trees, or arguing with Loki whether magic was fair to use in a battle (Loki says it is, of course it is, while Diana thinks it's only fair if the other person can use magic too).
"Oh, Lady Frigga!" Egeria blurts while Diana is in the middle of reciting the second paradox. "Are you lost?"
"No," the Asgardian Queen answers, something of both Loki's mischief and Thor's kindness in her smile. "I have actually come to rob you of your charge."
Diana shuts her book with a snap, even as Egeria frets. "Diana? But Queen Hippolyta-"
"-has given me permission to escort the princess to her next lesson in the stables," Frigga interrupts. "I wanted to make the most of my sons being effectively distracted for once."
"Egeria, if Mother said it was alright-" Diana wheedles.
Her tutor sighs. "Fine. Who am I to deny a queen?"
They walk quietly for a moment, and Frigga, for all her height, takes extra care not to out-pace Diana. Even Mother and Antiope forget to do that, sometimes, and Diana likes her all the better for it.
"I hope the boys have not been too overwhelming for you," Frigga says as they loop their way through Themysciria's winding streets.
"No," Diana promises. "They are wonderful!"
Frigga laughs, lightly. "I am glad to see their regard is reciprocated."
Diana beams, pleased. She is so glad they came to Themyscira! It is a novel thing, to have friends her own age, who do not coddle or scold her. But that is something she has been wondering: why have they come to the island at all?
The older woman looks thoughtful at Diana's question. "I suppose it is all my fault. I have been feeling sentimental lately and Themyscira is where I spent some of my happiest days as a child."
Diana stops stock still. "You are an Amazon!" She cries, suddenly certain of it. Oh, it all makes sense-why Mother likes her so much better than the Allfather, why Thor and Loki are so strong and so quick-minded-
Frigga's hand, gentle on her shoulder, pulls her from her thoughts. "No, Diana. Though I am honored that you think so."
"Oh," Diana murmurs.
"My mother was a Valkyrie. Asgard's version of the Amazons, in a way. She had heard of your people and brought me to visit. I was not a warrior in the same way she was, but your mother and aunt made me feel welcome all the same. I wanted Thor and Loki to have the same experience." At this, she offers Diana a warm smile. "And I think that they have. I have you to thank for that."
Diana blushes, feeling uncharacteristically shy. "It is not hard to be kind," she murmurs.
Frigga's smile is soft now, and she tucks a piece of hair beind Diana's ear. "No," she agrees. "It is not."
Even though Frigga is more Mother's age than her own, Diana thinks she may have made another friend in the royal house of Asgard.
They stay for another week, during which Thor manages to break a very old, very expensive vase, Loki somehow turns three chickens into wolves, and the Allfather speaks all of four words to Diana.
(Those four words are "they went that way", as she and Egeria try to track down Loki and the chicken-turned-wolves before Mother finds out what has happened.
Mother finds out, of course.
Loki and Thor-though it should be noted that Thor seems slightly more worried than Loki-fret that she is truly upset with them, that they have cost themselves the friendship of the Amazons. But Diana sees the twitch at the corner of Mother's mouth and knows she is more amused than angry.)
Still. The time comes for the royal family of Asgard to return to their home. Diana is sad. No, she is more than sad, she is heartbroken, because in these two short weeks she has had friends, real, true friends, and now she will go back to being the only child on the island. The little princess, the only one who grows and changes while the other Amazons remain the same as ever.
"Safe travels to you all," Mother says, as regal and composed as ever.
"Thank you again for allowing us to visit," replies Frigga, squeezing Hippolyta's hands.
The Allfather stands as a silent sentinel behind his wife, one hand on each of his son's shoulders. Thor is-oh, Thor is crying, try as he may to hide it-and Loki's face is drawn and sad. Diana knows she is a princess, knows that Mother wants her to be composed and regal, like her, but she is also a child.
So she does not stop herself from darting forward, throwing her arms around both Thor and Loki's necks.
"I will miss you very much," she whispers.
"I miss you already," Thor whispers back.
Loki makes an aggravated noise. "That is not even possible, Thor, Diana is right here."
"Yes it is!" Thor retorts, and she can make out the sound of him hitting Loki's shoulder with his free hand. Despite her tears, Diana cannot help but smile a little at their teasing, even now. But Thor's face turns ruddy-he apparently is not teasing, and does not appreciate Loki doing so.
Loki, of course, seems to have expected this and says, again, "No."
"Yes!"
"No."
"Yes-"
Diana blinks at the sudden rumble of thunder above them. The sky has been cloudless all morning-where had that come from?
"Thor," the Allfather says, with something like warning in his voice. "Control yourself."
Thor's shoulders droop and the sound of thunder fades.
"I am sorry that we must leave," Frigga is saying to Mother, as if the sudden appearance of thunderclouds is nothing out of the ordinary, "though perhaps we can persuade you and Diana to consider a visit to Asgard?"
Diana, Thor, and Loki's heads all whip towards Hippolyta, who looks distinctly annoyed.
"Frigga, while the offer is appreciated, you know that we cannot leave Themyscira. I am the Queen of the Amazons, I cannot leave my people-"
"Oh, I think it would do you and Diana good to go," Antiope interrupts. "Themyscira is well-guarded. Besides, it is not as if Asgard is a dangerous place, if memory serves."
"Asgard is very safe!" Thor chimes in, one arm tucked securely around both Diana and Loki's shoulders. "The safest place in all the Nine Realms!"
Diana opens her mouth to ask what the Nine Realms are, but then the Allfather is speaking, startling her into silence. "It would be a great honor to host you both, Hippolyta. And it would give us the opportunity to repay you for your hospitality the past two weeks."
They all fall silent as the two rulers-King and Queen, Amazon and Asgardian-stare at each other. Diana holds her breath, one hand fisted in the back of Thor's shirt and the other clenched at her own hip.
Please, Mother, please, she thinks. It is not the World of Men, it is safe, it is somewhere new-
"Thank you for the generous invitation, Allfather," Mother finally says, though her face looks anything but gracious. "We will...consider it."
It is not an outright yes but neither is an outright no. And that gives Diana hope.
"I am glad," Frigga says. "I have a gift for Diana that will make it easier for us to know when you have made your decision."
Diana releases her grip on Thor as Frigga beckons her forward. She pulls a small box-intricately carved and glittering gold in the mid-morning sun-from the pocket of her cloak.
"I enchanted it myself," Frigga explains. "It will allow you to send letters to us, if you so wish. Its twin will be in my rooms in Asgard."
"Oh," Diana breathes. "Oh, thank you!"
Frigga accepts her hug warmly, stroking a hand through Diana's hair as she does so. "As you said, Diana of Themyscira. It is not hard to be kind."
Diana smiles and clutches her new treasure close to her chest.
"It is time," the Allfather says. "We should not keep Heimdall waiting."
Diana hugs Frigga once more, then Loki-who only squirms slightly in her grip before relaxing.
"I left one of the chickens as a wolf," he mutters. "Take care of him, won't you?"
She nods solemnly. "He will be my dearest companion. Thank you, Loki."
"I didn't do it for you. It took too much effort to turn them all back," he insists, but she sees the pleased quirk of his lips when she steps back.
Thor hugs her so hard her ribs ache, but she cannot bring herself to mind. "Keep training," he whispers, "no matter what your mother says."
"I will," she whispers. "Try to keep Loki out of trouble. And do not pick up anymore snakes!"
Thor laughs, squeezing her again, before releasing her.
She wipes the few lingering tears away before facing the Allfather. She wants to hug him, too, despite the fact that they have barely spoken, but she does not think Mother will approve. And she is too wary of doing anything that might make her choose not to go to Asgard, when the time comes. So instead she offers him some semblance of a curtsey-Egeria would be proud that she remembered her manners-and relaxes a little when he smiles.
"Safe travels to you, Allfather," she says.
"Thank you, Diana," he answers. "I look forward to seeing you again."
She gasps at the sudden blur of light and sound surrounds the family. Mother's hand is abruptly-and firmly-on her shoulder, anchoring her to the earth.
"Goodbye Diana!" Thor crows and then-
And then they are gone.
Diana clutches her gift closer to her and tries not to cry.
Mother says nothing, but steers her back down the hill with a gentle hand. Antiope wraps an arm around her as soon as she as able.
"You will see them again," she murmurs. "Someday."
Diana hopes that 'someday' is very soon.
Author's Note: LISTEN. This was just supposed to be a cute one-shot of Diana and Thor being wonderful and falling in love ok? And then my goblin brain was like "what about THIS" and thus, it turned into a (hopefully) 6 part thing that's going to go all the way across the emotional spectrum and like 3 different planets/historical eras. I hate me too, don't worry.
Also I know Diana's age per movie canon (around 700ish at the time of the events of Wonder Woman) and Thor's age per Infinity War (1500? Let this man REST) don't line up for them to be kids at the same time, even with weird demi-god/immortal aging but we're just going to IGNORE THAT.