A/N: Well, here it is, the end of 'The God's Bride.' Those of you whom have followed it, I greatly appreciate your encouragement and your patience. I have decided to write a sequel to this story, but it will not be written for a while. The Norse prayer in this chapter is something I found on the internet, deeming it appropriate for this story.
To answer a few questions I have received in the reviews: Yes, I know Thor is married to Sif in the myths, but I'm creating my own mythology in this universe so it doesn't apply. Secondly, the color scheme mentioned in chapter 5 is something I made up entirely, glad you enjoyed it though. :)
Now, without further delay, here is the end.
Three days after Mayura's arrival home, she found herself in her childhood room preparing for her wedding ceremony. Loki had decided the night she came back that their wedding would be in three days, rather than three months, as he could not stand not having her as his wife any longer. The only person whom had objected had been Yamino, who was worried about the fact they had already spent so much money on the affair; Loki had simply shrugged, citing that he had plenty of money. Now here they were, getting ready for the next chapter in their lives and Mayura's stomach was full of restless butterflies.
"Don't worry, Mayura," said Freya as she assisted with the ceremonial headdress. "Everything's going to be fine, plus you look absolutely beautiful."
"Thanks, Freya," said Mayura breathlessly as she turned to look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit, her bridesmaid was right, the dress she was wearing complimented her perfectly and the light amount of makeup she had applied only served to enhance her natural beauty. "Freya, is this how the gods in Asgard get married?"
"It's similar," replied Freya as she adjusted the belt on her periwinkle blue kimono. "Usually it would be a week long event with trips to steam rooms, lessons on how to be a good wife, and all sorts of things. But don't compare your wedding to those in Asgard, Mayura, as yours will be as unique as you are."
Mayura smiled when she heard something scratching at the door. She made to open it but was stopped by Freya, whom was under orders by the Norns and Daidouji to not let Loki into the bridal suite lest he bring about bad luck for the couple. Freya opened the screen and looked down to see Fenrir.
"Fenny!" exclaimed Freya as she let him into the room. "What are you doing here, I thought you were with Loki?"
Fenrir nodded as he approached Mayura. "I was but then I decided to come see Mayura, things were getting too loud in the other room."
Mayura and Freya shared a quizzical look.
"Loud how?" asked Mayura as she picked up the little dog.
"Frey was going to challenge Daddy to a duel and then Narugami zapped him with his sword-hammer stick," yawned Fenrir. "They started to argue so I left."
"I better go check on Frey," said Freya as she glanced out the door in the direction the now audible noise was coming from. "Stay here, Mayura, and don't let Loki in!"
Mayura nodded as Freya ran down the hall towards the noise, Fenrir wiggled out of her arms onto the floor and looked around the room quickly.
"Okay, the coast is clear, Daddy," he said and Mayura saw something jump off of Fenrir's back and onto the floor, it was small and looked like a tick but she had a feeling it was something more.
Loki suddenly sprang up from where the tick had landed, a mischievous smile on his face and Mayura ran for cover, hoping to hide her face before he got a good look at her. He laughed when he saw her with a hatbox in front of her face.
"Mayura, you don't have to hide from me," he said smoothly as he tried to pull the box away. "I only wanted to see you."
"But it's bad luck!" argued Mayura as she took a step back from him. "If you see me before the ceremony, our marriage will be cursed."
Loki rolled his eyes, he had never been one to believe in superstition and curses. "Mayura, be reasonable, our marriage is no more doomed now than it was yesterday. Now put down that damn box and let me look at you."
Reluctantly Mayura moved the box away from her face and blushed bright red when she saw the way Loki was looking at her, like he had never seen a more beautiful woman. And he really had not.
"Oh Mayura," he whispered reverently as he approached her. "You're a goddess."
Mayura blushed harder at the compliment. "Thank you."
Loki grinned as he brushed a stray piece of hair away from her eye. "I can't believe I get to marry you, by the gods I must be the luckiest man alive."
"Good, because you're going to need all the luck you can get!" snapped Freya as she entered the room. "I should have known you would try and pull a stunt like this, Loki. Fenrir's innocent act was too well scripted to be thought of impulsively, I should have seen your hand in this."
"What can I say, Freya?" asked Loki as he took Mayura's hand. "I'm a man with a simple weakness."
Freya rolled her eyes as Mayura looked away bashfully.
"I don't care what your weakness is," said Freya, wagging her finger at Loki. "You need to get out of here and get ready for the ceremony, no arguments!"
Loki rolled his eyes before kissing Mayura's cheek. "I'll see you soon, dearest." He then walked out of the room, throwing Freya a smirk as he passed her before going towards the room he was to prepare in.
"Fenrir, aren't you going too?" asked Mayura when she saw that the little dog had not left with his father.
Fenrir shook his head. "No, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay here."
Mayura smiled before picking up the dog and placing him on the futon her father had brought in for them earlier, scratching him behind the ears affectionately. When she had learned that it had been Fenrir whom found out where she had gone and alerted everyone, the wolf had found a special place in Mayura's heart. While she was still upset whenever she thought about what he had said that day, she knew now where it was coming from thanks to Loki and Spica, and she did not begrudge him his anger. Rather she tried now to be a bit more inclusive with him and spent more time with him than she had before, though once she and Loki went on their honeymoon she was not sure how the little dog would cope.
"Daddy's right," yawned Fenrir as he looked up at Mayura. "You do look like a goddess."
"Thank you, Fenrir," said Mayura gently then she turned back to Freya. "I'm dressed, my hair and makeup are done, I finally got this gods' damned headdress on. Anything I'm missing?"
Freya thought for a moment. "I don't believe so . . . unless you count the ring."
Mayura clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. "I forgot the ring!"
Just then someone knocked on the screen door, Freya rushed over to answer it and found Yamino standing with a small black box in his hands. He was already dressed for the ceremony, wearing an impeccable black suit with a white tie and gold accents, nothing out of the ordinary for the god of mischief's youngest son; though Mayura did see the green silk handkerchief tucked in his pocket and she smiled, as she had purple ribbons tied into her hair.
"I believe you were missing something?" asked Yamino with a wink as he passed the box to Freya. "It arrived this morning, along with yours, though I've already taken it to Father. The engraving came out perfectly, I might add."
Mayura breathed a tremendous sigh of relief as she took out the ring and examined it in the light; the ring was a simple band of gold, the same kind as her engagement ring, inlaid in white gold in the band were small intricate images of Norse mythology. The tree of Yggdrasil was in the center, with two images representing life and death on either side, and a snake with its tail in its mouth wrapping around the top of the band. The snake represented their marriage, Loki had said, as never ending and eternal. She looked on the inside and saw the engraving written in Old Norse, just as she had requested.
"We're almost ready to start," said Yamino, breaking her from her thoughts. "Are you ready?"
"Born ready, Yamino," laughed Mayura as she handed the ring to Freya. "I can't wait to be married!"
Yamino smiled happily as he held out his hand for her to take, the serpent in disguise felt like crying as he watched the young woman glide gracefully to him, taking his hand. She had grown up and changed so much these last few years, yet at the same time she was still the same old Mayura.
Yamino escorted Mayura, while Freya diligently followed behind, to the main entrance of the Daidouji Temple where they found Loki and the others waiting for them. Narugami and Koutaro stood directly behind Loki, with Fenrir in Narugami's arms; the Norns were behind them, and behind them were Frey and Heimdall now in his true form. Mayura was still surprised to see Heimdall as an adult rather than as a child, when she returned from Utgard she did as Spica said and gave the runes to Heimdall, who then promptly used them to revert to his true form permanently.
He still had one eye and had to wear leather gloves to hide his talon like fingers, but his purple hair was much longer, now having to be tied with a red ribbon to keep it tame, and he was as tall as Frey. She had to admit, he was very handsome, though still not as handsome as Loki. When Mayura saw Loki dressed in a traditional men's kimono she felt herself smiling, she had not expected him to fully partake in that aspect of the ceremony. The look on his face when he saw her walking to him was one of absolute love, which made her weak in the knees.
Daidouji watched his only child walk towards him in her wedding gown, briefly he prayed that her mother was watching this, watching their little girl become the woman they had always dreamed she would be. He felt proud and sad all at the same time, he knew she was about to start a new life with someone who clearly loved her beyond measure but he also knew that she would be leaving him forever. There would be no more dinners waiting for him after a late night, no more mystery stories being read aloud as he walked past her room, no more welcome home hugs. Those would be reserved for someone else now.
"Daddy, are you alright?" asked Mayura when she saw the sad look on her father's face.
Daidouji nodded. "I'm fine, Mayura. Now, please follow me."
Loki took Mayura's hand and together they followed Daidouji out of the temple and to the small ceremony area Yamino and the others had set up earlier that day. The others dispersed to the seats set around the ceremony space while Loki and Mayura followed Daidouji to an ornate table, he motioned for them to remain there as he moved around in front of the table, looking out at the guests and the bride and groom.
Silently he picked up the sakaki branch, a prayer escaping his lips in a whisper as he moved and shook the branch around Mayura and Loki's heads, the two of them bowing slightly at the waist to accept the blessing. Loki stole a quick glance at Mayura, he honestly could not get enough of how she looked right now, she almost had an ethereal glow.
They both looked up when they heard Daidouji praying to his gods, asking them to bless the union and to accept their offerings; Loki almost laughed when he heard Daidouji invoking Frigg, he had thought the man would simply allow her likeness in the shrine, not openly pray to her.
'Strange mystery,' thought Loki wryly as he looked again at Mayura.
Next came the sake, which Narugami dutifully poured into the smallest cup, presenting it with a bow to Loki; the god took the cup and did as Daidouji told him, two sips then finishing off the cup on the third. When he was finished he handed the cup back to Narugami who handed it to Freya, so she could fill it up with sake for Mayura, and she drank it down with incredible grace. Freya then filled the medium cup, handing it to Mayura to drink then passing it to Narugami when she was finished so he could fill it for Loki to drink. With the larger cup, they repeated the cycle from the small cup. When they finished, Narugami and Freya went to the guests and poured them a small cup of sake, whispering blessings as they went and returning to fill a cup for both Loki and Mayura.
Daidouji smiled discreetly at them both then looked at Loki expectantly.
Loki cleared his throat, prepared to recite the vow he had committed to memory just days prior. In perfect Japanese, he recited loudly, "We make this marriage vow respectfully before the Hachiman deity. We Loki and Mayura are delighted to be able to make our vows on this great day, and to become husband and wife through the blessing of the Hachiman deity. We swear before the Hachimang deity to love and respect each other forever, and to strive to bring our family prosperity. Moreover, we swear never to veer from the true path of matrimony, and to work to share the divine grace of Hachiman deity by helping people and society."
Mayura then made a small noise, indicating that she would speak next. In shaky Old Norse, the words of a prayer came from her lips. "Fairest Frigg, Fensalir's Lady, Friend of families, matron of marriage, most gracious of goddesses, hear my hailing. I pray for myself and for he with whom I am handfast, I pray for peace between our bonds, I pray for our love to last through the long years and all the woes that the world can wish on us. I pray for patience on both our parts, that we may salve each other's sight, every time we return to the haven of home. Yet most of all I ask for aid when anger burns, and baleful words come forth to fire each other's false suspicions. Help us to turn once again to trust, and come with courtesy to the table, and talk, and find a fairer road to walk. O Frigg who keeps our knotted cord, show us the shared road through the thorns."
Everyone's jaw had dropped when she started speaking; they had thought she might recite a prayer at the very least, but not in Old Norse. While she had fumbled a bit, the beautiful sound of the old tongue was not unappreciated by the gods and goddesses present, all of whom had been reciting it under their breath once they heard the words. Loki was grinning broadly, just when he thought he had Mayura figured out, she always seemed to find some new way to surprise him and this was probably the biggest surprise yet.
When Daidouji recovered from the shock of hearing his daughter speak a prayer in a dead language, he continued with the ceremony, bringing out the offerings Loki and Mayura had agreed on then placing them on the shrine. Once that had concluded, he motioned to Freya and Narugami to hand the wedding rings to Loki and Mayura, the two smiling at each other as they slid the rings on the other as Daidouji completed the ceremony.
"Sake time!" shouted Narugami as he took his cup and drank it down in one go as the others laughed before drinking their glasses as well.
"We were so close," sighed Loki after he finished his sake.
Mayura laughed as they walked back, hand in hand, towards the temple. "Well, at least Narugami waited until the very end before saying anything. He could have said that during the sake ceremony."
Loki nodded thoughtfully. "That's very true, he could have been much worse." Then he looked down at her with a mischievous grin. "You're my wife now."
"And you're my husband," said Mayura a little sheepishly. "Strange mystery."
Loki brought her hand up and kissed it. "Not at all."