Chapter 3: The Proposal
Loki watched as Aija took her seat a few spaces diagonally from him. She still wore a slight scowl upon her face, which was fascinating. It perplexed him on why she harbored such negative feelings toward Odin. Deep inside this pleased Loki; anyone who hated the All-Father was a friend to his.
"She is absolutely enticing, all of the hatred spilling out of her is like the sweet aroma of a blossoming flower. Now to see why she so thoroughly hates Odin…" Loki frowned. It seemed as if he could not read her thoughts as he could most. "Well that is quite shocking. There must be something wrong with her." he thought as a scowl set on his face.
It was at this point that Loki decided he would confront Aija on her tardiness. It was one thing to disrespect him when he was Odin, but to deny him? HIM? He was not one to be insulted! Slowly turning his frame towards Aija, face grimacing, Loki began to address her.
"So child, do you plan on explaining why you were late to welcoming me? I feel quite offended by your indifference to my presence." Those who were close enough to hear his words fell silent. Everyone watched Aija to hear what she would say to the All-Father, but before she could reply her sister replied in her place.
"I am so sorry for my sister's absence your…" Before Maisa could finish her sentence Loki yelled, "SILENCE! I did not address you. I will have my answer from the one I spoke to. Now girl, what have you to say?" Loki glared at Aija as he spoke.
"Your majesty, please forgive my insolence." she replied while returning his glare. "I was on my way to greet you when my former dress's seam came apart. I had to rush back to my room and prepare another dress in order to be presentable in front of the All-Father. I deeply regret not being able to welcome you in the correct fashion, please accept my dearest apologies." Once she had finished her sentence she gave Loki a deceitful smile, making those around her eyes go wide. The tension everyone was feeling could almost be seen in waves coming from Loki and Aija. All were silent, awaiting Loki's reply.
"Hmph, she clearly has a death wish. Which I will happily grant her. I would have rather enjoyed sitting beside her, then I could enjoy the look Odin would have had if someone ever spoke to him in such a fashion, but alas she is speaking to my illusion. To make a scene or not to make a scene? Haha I believe I will!"
Before Loki could react to her obvious lack of sincerity in her smile, Zander spoke to Loki. "Oh do not mind her my dear friend. She must be dizzy from all the running around she'd done today, what with her dress falling apart before such an important evening. I promise you she is much more pleasant then she appears at this point." As he spoke, Zander shot his daughter an intense glare.
Aija understood what position she had just gotten herself. She angered Odin, which could possibly be her new husband; and if not, she definitely enraged her father. She was standing over hot water and could easily fall in if she kept this up. She sighed and tried her best to improve her posture and her facial expression. She gave her father a look that explained her compliance with his request to adjust her attitude. In return her father communicated "you better" through the widening of his eyes and tilting his head slightly in her direction. She would allow her father to distract Odin from her presence for the rest of the dinner. Aija would rather enjoy not having to converse with the man she slowly gained more abhorrence for.
After the dinner Zander made a grand speech to everyone on how grateful he and his people were to Odin for loaning out his son and his warriors. Once the speech was over, he approached Loki and inquired a private chat with him. As they began walking towards one of Zander's secluded balconies, Aija noticed their departure. Before her sister could scold her on her behavior at tonight's dinner, she followed the two men at a distance. As they exited onto the balcony, she found a spot where she could listen to their conversation without being spotted.
"So Zander, why have you brought me out to this balcony? What business do you have for me?" Loki asked with one brow raised inquisitively, hands clasped together at the front of his stomach.
"Always straight to the point Odin" Zander laughed. Becoming more serious, he stated "I have a gift for you in gratitude for all your help."
Loki was now tremendously intrigued on what type of gift Zander had for him. Usually he would much rather flaunt giving Odin a gift in front of his followers, yet he was pulling Loki aside in order to give it to him. "Well do not delay, what gift do you plan on giving me? I hardly see the reason for being so secretive."
"I want to offer my daughter's hand in marriage." Zander faced Loki fully now, shoulders squared and face unwavering.
"My friend, you cannot be serious? I thought she already had a husband, he was in fact sitting beside her at the dinner tonight" confusion could be seen on Loki's face.
"I have more than one daughter, Odin."
"You mean to say you are offering the hand of your youngest daughter to me, the one who was late to welcome me today. You must be mad to think I would accept such a union." Loki felt insulted that Zander would even suggest such a ludicrous proposal. Though he thought her amusing at first, her insolence quickly extinguished any pleasant feelings he held for her.
Outside of the balcony, Aija almost shouted out in joy. Her heart felt much lighter than it had since Zander had informed her of his gift choice. If she was not hiding from the kings as they conversed, she would have felt compelled to hug Odin. She was about to leave her place of hiding to go back to her room to relax after such a stressful day, when her father began to speak again.
"Now Odin, please do not be so quick to reject my gift. She is not typically this repugnant, her attitude was strictly due to her exhaustion, I promise you. The next time you talk to her, she will be much better behaved and her normal self." Zander could tell by the expression on Odin's face that he was not believing his lie. A thought suddenly entered his mind and he immediately continued his sentence before Odin could reject him again. "I have another proposition for you Odin, why don't you stay here in my palace for another week or two and interact with Aija when she isn't being temperamental. I promise you her charm will grow on you, and if not, you can deny me once more and I will never offer this gift to you or your family ever again. What do you say my friend?" Zander was holding out his arms in a gesture of anticipation.
Loki took a second to think it over. He was quite saddened that he could not berate Aija during the dinner as he had wanted to, perhaps this was his chance to make her suffer for her earlier impertinence. He got the shivers at the thought of how delightful it would be to torture her for a full week. Her look of indifference would change to one of pure anguish once he was finished with her. He began to become so increasingly lost in his thoughts, thinking of all the different ways he could torment Aija, he almost forgot to answer Zander.
"Fine. I will accept your proposal, but if I decline the marriage at the end of my time here, you best fulfill your part. I will not hear one word of this preposterous offer after I have left?" Crossing his arms, he awaited for Zander's confirmation.
As Loki was answering Zander's new proposal, Aija was slumped on the floor. Her earlier joy had now vanished, dread filling its place. The next week would feel like an eternity to her, every day filled with misery. Instead of returning to her normal routine, she would have to entertain Odin, the man she just insulted at dinner. He is also a man who could have her executed if he so chose. She was hoping that her insolence would cause Odin to want nothing to do with her. She had not foreseen her father offering him such a proposal, nor had she thought Odin insane enough to accept. She felt as if she were frozen, her limbs seemed to weigh a thousand tons. Aija knew that the conversation was almost finished, and she would have to move quickly if she was to stay unnoticed, but she did not know whether or not she could move. She slowly pushed herself up against the wall, by the time she was fully standing, Aija heard the men start to move towards her. She was able to muster enough strength to dash to the nearest room and hid inside until they passed. When they were far enough away that she felt safe, she exited the room and slowly shuffled towards her bedroom, a blank look upon her face.
"How am I to survive this week? Odin will tear me to pieces after my insolence this evening. Hopefully I can convince Odin that I was just in a foul mood that night. If he was any other man than the All-Father, I would continue to ignore him. HA, I think I would even tell him to his face my dislike of him, but it is not any other man. It is the most powerful man in the universe… What am I to do?" Aija asked herself, grimacing. As she reached her room, she decided to turn around and head towards the palace garden. Aija knew that she could find some peace and quiet there, her father and sister never bothered her while she was amongst the hedges and flowers.
Aija was sitting on a stone bench within one of the gardens courtyards when she heard a branch snap. Before Aija could turn around in time, someone had picked her up and placed her on top of their shoulder. She started to struggle and scream at her attacker to set her down, but a familiar voice soon soothed her.
"Calm down sister, you are always so wound up." Ludvik laughed as he placed Aija back on the ground.
"Well who wouldn't be when a strange man tries to kidnap them?!" Aija lightly shoved her older brother, a wide grin appearing on her face. She turned to see that her other brother, Laus had joined them.
"How did you two find me? I thought you would be off flirting with Odin." Aija stuck her tongue out at them.
Laus, the older of the twins, chuckled. "It is not hard to find you when you always hide in the same place."
"You still have not changed since you were a child." Ludvik said while tousling her hair. Aija smacked his hand away, while trying to fix the part of her hair that he had tangled.
"Aija, we do have a serious question for you. Why did you insult the All-Father?" Crossing his arms, Laus awaited her response. As the older twin, he had taken on a more serious attitude. Laus was always the one who asked the important questions and expected an answer. Ludvik, on the other hand, was more of a prankster. He was more than happy to let his brother deal with the important matters, such as this.
Aija looked at the ground, not wanting to meet her brother's eyes. "Father has made me the All-Father's gift. If he accepts. I am to be his wife." She started to fidget, knowing her brothers were staring at her. She looked up to see what Laus and Ludvik's reaction were. Aija was not sure how they would respond because her brothers loved the All-Father because of his glory in battle.
She was startled by their reactions, they both had a look of surprise mixed with disgust tracing the lines of their faces. Laus took a step forward and put his hands on Aija's shoulders, "Do you wish for me to speak to father? I can try to convince him…"
Before he could continue Aija put her hand on her brother's arm and said, "No Laus, you know father better than that. His word is the last and there is no one that can change his mind. He wants this marriage to happen and so it will. Father will only become infuriated that you are questioning him, and he may lash out at you. Please, I rather you not." She looked at her brother, sadness shadowing her eyes. They were all quiet for some time.
From behind Laus, you could hear Ludvik slowly start to sing. He was singing an upbeat melody while he clapped his hands and stomped his feet in rhythm with the song. Slowly he began to sing louder, picking up the tempo. Laus smiled down at his sister and took her hands in his. He swung her around and around, until she was dizzy and could no longer stand. Once she regained her balance, she let out a loud laugh and started to sing along with her brother. Soon all three were dancing around the garden singing and dancing. One of the brothers would be twirling Aija, then she would be passed to the other. Aija almost looked like a child while she danced with her brothers because of how short she was compared to them. Most of the time, instead of bending down to dance with her, they would merely pick her up, suspending her feet in the air. No longer was there sadness on her face, only pure happiness. Her brothers always knew how to make her laugh when she was feeling particularly upset. After a long time, the merriment ended with the three siblings falling on the ground giggling. They all looked to the sky and returned to silence, but this one was a welcomed one.
Ludvik turned his head towards Aija, "You know that we will always be her for you sis. We will come visit you in Asgard as often as Odin will allow. He can't keep your big brothers away." He raised his head off the ground to kiss her on the forehead.
Laus lifted his head and did the same. "We will fight anyone who gets in the way of us visiting you. I promise you that."
Tears welled up in Aija's eyes. She didn't know how to answer them. She was thankful that she had two amazing brothers. If this was to be her life, she might be able to bear it if she got to see them often enough. Her dread was slowly fading away, calmness washed over her. She took her brothers' hands in hers. All Aija could reply was, "I love you both so much," before her voice choked up from the oncoming tears.
Unbeknownst to the three within the garden, Loki hid behind the other side of the hedge on a stone bench, a small smile on his face. He was exceedingly amused by how the siblings were interacting. He was now able to understand why the audacious girl acted like such at dinner, she had known of her father's proposal before Zander had told Loki. He was slightly less annoyed by the thought of Aija. He still planned to punish her for her impudence towards him, but he would be less harsh. He understood why she so loathed the sight of him, he too hated looking at Odin. Loki could not imagine having to possibly marry him, and his body shivered at the thought. For her actions towards Odin, he would forgive, but her actions toward him he would not. He would understand why Aija was able to deny him from her thoughts. She must have some defect in her mind, or someone powerful must be protecting her. Either way, he planned to find the reason for this problem. He still thought that the upcoming week would be full of amusement as he broke her into pieces.
Hey guys,
Sorry this chapter took so long. I am a college student so I am trying to do all my school work and actual work and finish my chapters. I am trying to get one out every week or two, so please forgive me if one is a little late!
Also I am in the process of having my earlier chapters reviewed so I will be fixing those soon.
Hope you all enjoy!
