A/N Hey everyone! I am sooooooo SORRY that it took me so long to finally write this chapter. As some of you may know, I am a college student. What some might not know, is that I am an accounting major. This semester has been insufferably busy :/. I try to write, but there just so much reading and problems!

Anyways! Thank you again for being so patient with me. I promise to try to be consistent with how often I update, and don't worry! Even if it seems like I vanished, I promise you I am working on my next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Ch.7: The Announcement

"I am quite surprised that you have come to such a quick decision after being so hesitanct All-Father." Zander exclaimed with delight. "I was almost sure that you would need more persuading on my part before you accepted this union. I will have to arrange a feast in which to inform every one of the splendid news!" Looking off into the distance, Zander began calculating all that was needed for the feast.

"How long will it take for you to prepare this feast? I would like it to be soon so that I may return back to Asgard." Loki looked at Zander inquisitively.

"For such a grand banquet? It would take about a week to get all of the preparations in order. We will decorate the halls with our most lavished adornments, all nobles will be invited to join in the celebration, and so on and so forth."

Loki tried to subdue his annoyance, suppressing his desire to verbally insult Zander. Rubbing his temple, Loki replied, "Zander that just will not do, I had planned to return home by the end of this week. I will have it no later than two nights from now."

Zander stared at Loki in astonishment. "It would be impossible to get all the preparations ready in such a short time!"

"I have faith that you will be able to get it done." Loki turned and left Zander staring after him.

Aija begrudgingly donned her best dress. Tonight there was to be a banquet announcing her engagement with the All-Father. Zander had confronted her two days before about her behavior during the upcoming dinner. He had chastised Aija for her behavior during past banquets, warning her that she must "act like a true princess" and remain "refined and elegant" through-out the night. During her scolding, Aija could not help but smirk at her father's words. There was a gravity behind them that once lulled her into obedience. After her encounters with Loki, however, the power behind his words faded. She would not conduct herself properly at the banquet because it was his will, but from fear of how Loki would react.

As Freyna styled Aija's hair, Aija ruminated on this past week's events. She had realized during past reflections that if she had acted as Maisa had and swooned over Loki, she would have been saved from this cruel fate. Loki would have become bored with her and denied the proposal. Without realizing it, she had started scowling at her misfortunes.

"Your highness, I hope you do not plan on keeping that face during dinner."

As Aija focused her eyes to actually look upon her figure in the mirror, she noticed that her face was indeed distorted in an unpleasant grimace. She smiled slightly, tilting her head upwards trying to look at Freyna, "What? I do believe this face brings out my beautiful forehead creases. Do you not think everyone would appreciate my exquisiteness?" As she finished her sentence, Aija had one hand under her chin and the back of the other against her forehead.

Freyna released a giggle and put one of her hands on her hips, while the other continued to hold Aija's hair. "Now will you hold still! I do not want to have to start over with your hair."

Looking into Freyna eyes through the mirror, Aija gave her a warm grin. "I will miss you once I go to my new home."

Freyna gave a sad smile in return, placing her free hand on Aija's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I can still come with you, your grace. I am sure that the All-Father would understand if you wanted your handmaid to accompany you."

"No Freyna, I could not take you away from Vanaheim. You have family here that will miss you dearly. I could not possibly ask you to leave them only to keep me company."

"My family does not need me, but you do. You will have no one that you know in Asgard. There won't be any one to be there for you when you need help, no friends to call on."

"I barely have any friends here. It will likely be much the same once I arrive on Asgard. I can take care of myself, besides, I need someone I trust to look after Ludvik. You know how he loves to get himself into trouble with his antics."

"If you will not change your mind, will you at least promise me something?"

"Yes of course Freyna, what is it?"

"If the feeling of loneliness ever overwhelms you, ask Odin for his permission to have me become your handmaid once again. I will not have you go crazy because you do not wish for me to be away from my family."

"Freyna…"

"No your majesty, I want you to promise me."

"Fine. I promise to send for you if I am ever in dire need of a friend."

Rubbing Aija's shoulders, Freyna asked, "See now that wasn't very hard, now was it?"

Aija stuck her tongue out at her friend. "Are you almost done? I'm tired of sitting still."

Chuckling, Freyna put the last pin in Aija's hair. "All done your grace."

Aija stood to look at herself in her full length mirror. She wore a long sleeved dress that was teal with silver accents stitched into the fabric. The end of the sleeve was wider than the rest, flowing down to her knees. The top of the dress was fashioned like a corset with silver ribbons laced in the back. The skirt of the dress flowed freely to her ankles, swaying when she walked. She had always loved the way she looked in this dress, especially because it accentuated her eyes. It irritated Aija that she was wearing her favorite dress for that monster. Putting such cantankerous thoughts out of her mind, Aija looked at her hair and smiled. Freyna always managed to transform her difficult hair into a work of art. In the front there were only a few strands falling to shape her face, the rest were tight back. The top part of her hair was braided, with silver intertwining with her coal black hair. The braid ended in a messy bun where her shoulders met her neck. She turned around and hugged Freyna, thanking her for doing such a beautiful job with her hair.

"You will surely turn heads at this banquet your grace. You look absolutely radiant."

"Thank you Freyna. If only it was for someone I actually cared to impress." Aija straightened her skirt and prepared to make her way towards the dining hall. "Thank you again for everything, you have always been the best servant a girl could ask for."

"Anything for you my lady. Please behave yourself at dinner tonight, I do not want your father to take his anger out on me and assign me to Maisa or something worse when you leave."

Aija could not help but laugh. "Nothing is worse than that! I will try my best though."

Aija walked through her door into the hallway. Taking a quick second, she looked back at her old friend. With a calming breathe, she resumed her journey to the banquet hall.

As Aija entered the grand hall, she looked into the crowd of people mingling. Near the bottom of the stairs, she could see her father and brothers conversing with some of the other noble families. Her sister was in the middle of the crowd with her husband, talking to her normal social group. She glanced over the throng of people once more, but she could not locate where Loki was standing. With a sigh of relief, she finished her descent and joined her father's group.

"Hello father. Good evening everyone." Aija said as she curtsied.

"Oh my, are you actually on time for once my darling daughter?" There was a look of approval in his eyes as he addressed Aija. The nobles within the group laughed at Zander's jest. Laus and Ludvik only glared at their father.

Aija smiled at her father, trying to control her emotions. "Well father, this is such an important dinner! You made all these plans within just two days. I could not be late to such a grand occasion as this."

The nobles took over the conversation with questions toward Zander on what momentous news he had to tell everyone. Aija took this as her chance to escape the conversation.

As Aija walked through the crowd, she searched for a quieter corner of the room to relax before they were seated for dinner. She saw an empty space near a pillar at the end of the room. As she entered the opening, she felt relief after having to brush against so many people. She rather hated large events at the palace, she found it hard to find anyone who wanted to include her within their discussions. That was one of the main reasons she was always late to such gatherings, no matter how enraged her father became.

Aija was enjoying watching everyone talking. When she was younger, she would guess what the group was talking about. Putting words to the movements of their mouths to amuse herself until dinner was served. As she was pretending one group was talking about or not to turn all the rivers pink, she heard a rustle of cloth behind her. She turned to see Loki leaning against the pillar she was standing by. Putting on hand on her hip, Aija asked, "How long have you been standing there?"

Loki chuckled to himself. "Long enough to see that you are going crazy."

"UHG! I am not going crazy!"

"Then why, pray tell, were you giggling to yourself for so long?"

"I was just… oh never mind. What I was doing is none of your business. Maybe I am going crazy, you shouldn't marry a crazy person. Let's go tell father the wedding is off!" Aija turned to walk away, but Loki grabbed her wrist.

Loki pulled Aija closer so that he was whispering into her ear, "If we do that, then I would have to go back to my original plan of killing you."

Aija glared up at him. Wrenching her wrist from her hold, she replied, "We wouldn't want it to come to that now would we. It would be horrible to waist such a pretty face as mine." Aija mockingly batted her eyes at Loki.

"You do look ravishing in that dress." Loki gave Aija a dashing smile. Confused, Aija blushed slightly, that is, until Loki continued his sentence. "I think you would look more ravishing on my bed, however. What do you say?" Loki raised his eyebrows and turned his smile into a wicked grin.

"You disgust me." Aija stormed off into the crowd trying to put as much distance between Loki and herself as she could. To her dismay, her father called for everyone to take their seats.

Loki appeared by her side once more, holding out his arm. "Let me escort you to your seat, my lady."

Aija glowered at Loki and stormed off to her seat. She was seated next to her father and across from Loki.

As Loki sat down in his seat, he only smiled at her. He enjoyed toying with Aija, especially because she reacted so energetically. He had at first thought this dinner would bore him the whole night, but now he recognized its potential. He could see the agony in Aija's eyes as she had to endure talking with her father and sister. He relished at the sight of the misery she was felt.

"Though I too must endure the awfully dry conversations, I can at least enjoy her suffering. Tonight might not be a complete waste of my time after all."

At the end of the dinner, Zander stood, clinking his silverware against the side of this glass. All conversations stopped as the guests turned to look at their king, awaiting to hear the grand news that had brought them here tonight. Zander cleared his throat, preparing to give his speech. "Once again, I thank you all for coming, even on such short notice. I have brought you all here to announce that my youngest daughter is to be married." Zander looked out into the crowd of faces, seeing that most of them conveyed a look of shock or annoyance. He knew that most of the people attending tonight could care less whether Aija, his trouble child, was engaged. He was amused by the looks of confusion displayed by a few guests.

Aija was mortified by the reactions within the crowd. She knew that she was not everyone's favorite princess, but she could not have imagined that not a single person would applaud the announcement. Usually when there is a declaration of engagement, people to go wild with excitement and joy. All those attending the banquet only stared at her father as he took in the faces of the crowd. The silence was killing her slowly.

"Is this what Hel feels like? I wish only to crawl out of my own skin and vanish into the shadows. Maybe I could just slip under the table and disappear… No that would never work."

Loki watched Aija as her father made the announcement. He reveled at the expression of horror that had dawned on her face. He could feel her unease from where he sat, which made him grin. He grinned even wider as he evaluated everyone else's reactions to Zander's news. Aija was clearly not on anyone's good side, the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd made that painfully obvious. The gathering of guests only blankly stared at Zander in confusion. They obviously were mystified as to why he would call them all there for such a measly thing as her engagement.

"How intriguing. Why is it that everyone on Vanaheim seems to despise this girl? I know why people on Asgard hate me, but I cannot fathom what this pathetic imp could have done to make so many people loathe her." Loki continued to ponder the subject as Zander began to speak once more.

Zander smiled and continued his speech, "Her husband-to-be is also here in this room. All-Father will you please stand up and tell everyone the thrilling news yourself." Zander sat down as Loki stood up.

A look of annoyance flashed across Loki's face as he stood. He had not expected Zander to force him into making a speech. He could see that Aija's dismay now turned into amusement. She had seen the hesitation in his movements and realized that he had not planned on having to talk. Looking out over the crowd, he tried to control his rage.

"How DARE this impudent fool laugh at my discomfort. She is wrong to think the tables have turned."

Loki gave Aija a menacing smile and began his speech, "Yes, thank you Zander. When I had first arrived here in Vanaheim, Zander offered me a gift. This gift was his youngest daughter's hand in marriage. I had denied his gift in the beginning, but as days passed I had changed my mind. Though she is not the brightest, nor is she graceful." Loki could feel Aija's glare burning into the side of his head. He turned to face her and had saw that with arms crossed, she was glowering at him. Smiling, he continued, "Despite that, however, I have found qualities within her that draw me towards her. I have decided to accept Zander's gift and will be taking Aija back to Asgard to make her my wife." The crowd was in complete shock, mouths gaping wide open.

It took a few seconds for everyone to regain their composure. It was clear that most opposed this arrangement, but they cheered anyways. Since dinner was over, guests rushed over to ask Loki questions about his upcoming marriage. Many questioned what he could possibly see in Aija. Their persistence irritated Loki; he had planned on confronting Aija for her insolence during his speech. He would not allow his agitation to be a form of amusement for her.

As guests swarmed around Loki, Aija took her chance of escaping. She knew that few would be interested in congratulating her on her engagement. Most would only ask her questions about how she managed to charm the All-Father. The people of Vanaheim only saw her as the problem child, one not worth marrying to their sons. She rather drink poison then have to suffer through talking to them for an hour. It was easy for Aija to slip through the crowd unnoticed into the empty hallways.

Maisa saw Aija as she exited the dinner hall. She would not allow her sister to have a better life then her own; Maisa raced after her sister.

Aija sighed in relief as she felt silence envelop her. She was glad to be away from the throng of bodies, even happier to have escaped Loki. She slowly walked through the halls toward the outside garden, she had needed some time to relax and clear her mind. As she continued to walk, she heard the sound of heels pounding against the stone floor. She turned to see if someone was trying to catch up to her. From around the corner she had just come, Maisa appeared, a look of rage on her face.

"Maisa? What are you doing here? I thought you would be back in the dining hall with our guests. Is there something you needed from me?" Aija inquired, confused.

Swiftly closing the distance between them, Maisa shoved Aija.

Aija quickly regained her balance. Raising her voice, Aija asked, "Why did yo…", but before she could finish her sentence, Maisa shoved her again.

"You are NOTHING! Do you hear me? Nothing! How dare you? How is it possible that a filthy swine as yourself was able to get the life I have only dreamed about?"

Aija took a step back from her sister, trying to control the rage that swelled inside her. "How dare I? How DARE I? Why is it that you always manage to make things about you? I am about to go to another world, where there is no family nor friends. I am to marry a man who cannot provide me happiness. My life will be a living nightmare and yet you are livid, not because you think I was wronged, but because you wanted it instead. No matter what I do, you are angry with me. Why is that? WHY? I have done nothing to you! You were once the sister I looked up to, and now you are my tormentor. What could I have possibly done to deserve this?"

"Do NOT call me your sister! We are barely sisters. You have stained this family and I will not let you get away with it."

"Barely sisters? We are completely sisters! Our mother both gave birth to us, making us siblings. I cannot fathom why you fight that so wholeheartedly. As for staining this family, I may not be the princess everyone wants me to be, but that is your fault. Ever since childhood you have done nothing but try to make my life miserable. I do not see why father allows you to treat me this way."

"Father? FATHER!? Ha! He is not your father! And our whore of a mother betrayed him by making YOU. You are the disgusting result of her actions."

Aija stumbled backwards, a mix of confusion and horror clouding her face. "How could you say something like that? You have gone too far! Making up stories just to upset me!"

Maisa grabbed Aija by the neck, pushing her against the wall. "Listen to me your unutterably dissolute haggard, my father has been kind enough to allow you to live. You are a constant reminder of the betrayal and death of my mother! You are unworthy of the breathe you take every second!" As Maisa finished her sentence, her fingers tightened around Aija's neck.

As Aija felt the hand around her neck, she panicked. Thoughts about what Maisa had just told her raced through her mind. It was impossible that her mother would ever betray her father. When she was growing up, she remembered all the stories people used to tell her, most conveying how in love her parents were. She quickly realized that her appearance made sense if what Maisa was saying was true. Whenever Aija looked in the mirror, she intrinsically knew that there was something different about herself, but she would never admit it. She grappled with her feeling, unsure of whether or not to believe Zander was not truly her father. The combination of lack of oxygen and her inability to face the emotions inside her, something within Aija snapped.

In the blink of an eye, Maisa saw a sheen pass over Aija's eyes. A second after the light was gone, there was a darkness that filled its place. Suddenly, Maisa was knocked back against the wall opposite of where they had been standing. The lamps within the hallway began to grow brighter and brighter until they exploded, the flames leaping from their place to whirl around Aija. Maisa looked up towards Aija in horror, her eyes had gone completely black. Aija slowly advanced toward where Maisa was sprawled on the ground, as she tried to crawl away, frightened. Aija harnessed the swirling fire into a sphere, as she retracted her arm to throw the ball at her sister. Just as she was about to release the flaming ball, something hard hit the back of her neck, causing her to fall motionless towards the cold, hard ground. The fire returned back to where it had come, once again illuminating the hall.

Loki managed to catch Aija before she hit the stone floor. He was shocked, and a little intrigued that Aija had such powers dwelling within her. At first he could not understand why she had not used them on him when he threatened her in the garden, but soon realized there was a different element to this fight. He had only threatened her physically, he did not emotionally batter her. Loki was glad he had been lurking around the corner, or else he would not have been able to make such a marvelous discovery.

Breaking his train of thought, Maisa began to claw at Loki's arm. "Oh thank you for rescuing me, All-Father. Without you, I do not know what I would have done. Now will you see what a menace she is? We need to lock her away immediately!"

Loki stood, Aija still in his arms, "Hush child, I will do no such thing. It is not a crime to wield magic, though it is frowned upon when it is used against someone."

"What!?" Maisa had a look of anger on her face. "She attacked me! It is not like she was making a book hover in mid-air. She was going to throw a ball of fire at me! You cannot possible say that she is not going to be punished for what she has done to me!"

Walking closer to Maisa, Loki glowered down at her. "If I am not mistaken my lady, you had your hand around her neck before she had done anything to you. Not only did you antagonize her, but you also attacked her. It was clearly an act of self-defense on her part. If you really wish, we can have a conversation right now with your father. We can tell him all about the fight that had just occurred, or we can retire for the night and let our anger subside. What will it be child?"

Without replying, Maisa glared at Loki and turned around. She loudly stomped away from where they were standing in the direction of her bed chambers.

"Why does every women in this palace have to be such a pain? Now what are we going to do about you little dove. I was intrigued by you before, but now you have my attention. Not only is Zander not your real father, but you have this latent power within you. Maybe you are worth my time after all."

Loki walked down the hall, towards Aija's bed room. He did not want his future wife to be tired for their trip back to her new home.