Ava returned home several hours later. She snuck back into her room. The candles in her room, suddenly lit up and Ava looked to see her mother sitting in the chair by her vanity. "Where have you been?" Frigga asked.

"Out." Ava answered, still upset with her mother.

"Ava Odindottir..." Frigga said, her tone one of motherly scolding.

"I just went out to get some fresh air." Ava replied. "I needed to be alone to think."

"I know...it is a lot to take in." Frigga replied. "Especially at the beginning of the day...I told your father he should wait to tell you and let you and Vinius get to know each other before giving you the news."

"Mother...I don't want this to happen at all." Ava replied.

"And why not?" Frigga asked. "You haven't given Vinius a chance."

"I...I just don't want an arranged marriage."

"Is this because your heart belongs to someone else?" Frigga asked.

Of course that's why! Ava screamed in her mind. "No." She replied aloud. "Thor will get to choose his bride...and my husband is chosen for me? How is that fair? Just because I am a woman."

"Ava...you know that is not why." Frigga replied.

"Oh, it is because I am second in line for the throne." Ava replied. "I am not as valuable as my older brother. I am only valuable as a tool to help strengthen our ties to the other worlds."

"That is enough." Frigga said, getting up from her seat and walking over to her daughter. "You will not speak so disrespectfully to me. I am still your mother after all."

"Yes and you betrayed me!" Ava shouted. "You should have told Father that I should be allowed to make my own choices!"

Frigga saw the tears welling up in her daughter's eyes and she felt her own tears stinging her eyes. She could see it in Ava's eyes that she truly felt betrayed. She walked over to Ava and placed her hands on either side of Ava's face and kissed her forehead. "I know that this seems like the end of the world...but trust me it is not...and I do love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too Mom." Ava replied. She may have been upset with her mother, but she did still love her. She would have felt horrible had she not told her mother she loved her.

Frigga kissed Ava's forehead once more before turning and exiting the room. She made her way to the chambers she and Odin shared. "How is she?" Odin asked.

"She feels betrayed...even more so by me than you." Frigga answered. "And she feels that she is only worth anything to you as a political tool to help unite worlds."

"She will get over it." Odin replied.

"Maybe we should call off the marriage." Frigga said, sitting on the bed next to her husband.

"She'll understand that arranged marriages aren't horrible. Look at us." He replied.

"It isn't about the marriage." Frigga replied. "Our daughter feels betrayed by us...she feels undervalued. We should call it off. Vinius can still remain here and try to win her heart...let her choose."

"We've already made the arrangements, my dear. To back out of the decision now would possibly shake our alliance with the Alfheim." Odin replied.

"What if they understand?" Frigga asked. "You don't know anything for sure."

"Frigga...my dear, we have to do this. Once Ava gives young Vinius a chance, I know she will fall for him. Once she gets to know him."

"She is headstrong." Frigga replied. "She has that much of her true mother in her."

Odin kissed his wife on the cheek. "You are only trying to get me to change my mind because she is so upset with you. She will get over it once she gives the young man a chance."

"What if she doesn't fall for him?" Frigga asked. "Not every arranged marriage can work out the way ours has."

"Things will work out the way they are meant to." Odin assured his queen. "And she will come around. You will see."

"You're not understanding this at all." Frigga replied. "She is upset because Thor will get to choose his bride and her husband will be chosen for her."

"The marriage still stands." Odin said. "That is my final word."

"Well, then I hope your final word will keep you warm in this bed at night." Frigga said, getting up and grabbing her night dress from the wardrobe. She then left their chambers and headed for a different room. She locked herself in another bedchamber. "Maybe a few nights alone will help him change his mind."

Ava...

Ava had changed into her night dress and was sitting on her bed, reading over the laws of Asgard, trying to find a loophole to get her out of marrying Vinius in five years. There was a knock on her door before it opened and Thor entered.

"That was quite a show you put on at breakfast this morning." Thor said, looking at his sister.

Ava glared at her brother. "It wasn't a show."

Thor walked over and sat down beside his sister. "I know." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in for a hug. "Why does it upset you so?" He asked. "Unless of course there is someone else who already has your heart?"

"You get to choose your bride, but my husband is chosen for me." Ava replied. "I only want the same treatment as you."

"That's a reasonable request." Thor agreed. "But you're sure this has nothing to do with your heart belonging to someone else...your friend Loki perhaps?"

Ava playfully smacked her brother on the chest. "He is just my friend." She lied. "Besides...even if my heart did belong to him...it's complicated."

"Explain to me how it is complicated." Thor told her. "You can tell me anything."

Ava thought about it for a moment. She thought about confessing to her brother everything. She wanted someone to confide in so badly...and who better than her big brother? No...I can't tell him. "It's too complicated to explain."

"Well...if you ever want to talk about this or anything...I'm here for you." Thor told her. "And if there is anyone you need me to punch, I'm good at that."

Ava laughed. "Thank you, Brother." She said, hugging him. "But I doubt that you will punch Father."

"If it would make you feel better I might."

"I'll keep that in mind."