an. So quick note, I updated my profile with a bunch of info about this series! I added tracklist's of the songs I use for each Vol, including this one so if you want any teasers for this you can look to that! Also I changed my username to my real name cause I was like eh, why not? but besides that thanks to Books-and-Cleverness-394 and Taffdog19943 for following!

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Arianna Le Fay, yeaassss I have something planned that will really give her the title of goddess of winter.

Chapter 9: They Look So Radical

Skadi had done many things over the past few days on Asgard that she indeed hadn't wanted to do ever but this, oh this, was the final straw. She'd been showcased by her father to all of Asgard, forced to wear dresses and have her hair be done up. She'd been forced to attend council meetings, be retaught all the rules and lessons she'd been taught as a girl and on top of it all her father would rarely let her out of his sight. But this, this was when Skadi would become the stereotypical spoiled princess Rocket would claim her to be and put her foot down.

"I am not wearing this."

Sif raised an eyebrow as the girl spoke from behind her dressing screen. She stood from her position leaning against the girl's wall, watching as the two hand maidens charged with dressing the princess were shooed away and out from behind the screen.

"It can't be that bad." Sif chuckled, knowing that this was just one of the many meltdowns she'd dealt with from Skadi over the past days. "You've worn every other dress you're father had made for you with no complaint,"

"I can sense you rolling your eyes." Skadi shook her head, knowing that Sif was being sarcastic. Skadi had complained about every dress she was forced to wear. "I just, I- ugh, why can't I wear pants? Why do you get to wear them and I don't."

Skadi stepped out from behind the screen, telling the hand maidens they were free to leave. She watched them leave hesitantly, knowing that their job wasn't done but couldn't say anything back to the princess. Skadi huffed, sitting down at her table and staring at herself in the mirror. She was almost unrecognizable, with her hair flowing down to her mid back in soft waves, her face clear of any make-up. The dress she wore was a light blue with golden embroidery in the fabric. The cut was low, showing a lot more cleavage than she normally did. The dress reached the ground, cascading down to her feet. Her arms were bare as the dress had no sleeves and dipped low down towards her back.

She felt beautiful but she also felt like this wasn't her. She didn't recognize the girl staring back at her in the mirror and knew that her friends wouldn't either if they were here. She'd been missing them more than anything over the last few days, each day growing to regret coming here more and more. She'd fall asleep nearly every night listening to the Zune. Her time was almost up no matter how much her father tried convincing her to stay.

She thought about making her trip a little bit longer though, if only for a mere second just because she grew to feel bad for Odin. He was really trying to win over her affections; he must've been so lonely over the years. But Skadi knew she wouldn't stay longer than tomorrow and was heading to the Bifrost the moment her going away ball was over that Odin was throwing for her. She told them she'd be back by tomorrow night and she would be. Especially now, after her another one of her father's big reveals last night over dinner.

Skadi was still fuming, hence why she was throwing a tantrum over the stupid dress he wanted her to wear. Odin had been talking about how today Skadi would watch a play that he had be made to honor Loki's sacrifice. Of course, this brought up more questions about what had happened with the Dark Elves, Odin, having been very quick and short with his original explanation with what had happened, saying she'll get the full story when she watched the performance. But Skadi was, as we all know, impatient. So the Goddess questioned what the Aether really was, what was so important about it that made the Dark Elves so obsessed with it. Odin offhandedly told her was it was, not thinking much into it and acting like it was no big deal. If he downplayed it maybe she'd just let it go, he figured. But the years separated caused him to forget that Skadi was one to not let things go in the slightest.

Skadi was outraged, the Aether was another Infinity Stone; it was the Reality Stone. When she demanded to know what he did with it she became even more livid when he told her he had it be sent to the Collector for safe keeping. There was nothing safe about keeping it at the Collector's. All night that was all Skadi could think off, wishing she had some way to contact the other to let them know. To send them off with Nova to retrieve the stone and put it somewhere safe. It was eating her alive, knowing just how truly foolish her father was.

"Sif," Skadi spoke up after moments of silence. "I need you to do me a favor."

Sif looked at her curiously, moving to stand behind her. She let the princess talk as she absentmindedly reached for the brush sitting on table. She began to brush through the girl's hair, getting all the knots out before beginning to place braids throughout.

"I need you to go back to Xandar, please." Skadi started, watching Sif work as she recalled the conversation she told her she had with her father the night before. "The Aether is an Infinity Stone and it's not safe where it is. I need you to tell my friends where it is so they can get it. I can't wait another day, I don't trust my father to let me leave so easily."

"Your father will be absolutely furious if I leave Asgard without his permission." Sif said, seriously. "I cannot. The stone is safe, Odin knows what he is doing. You're being paranoid. The All-father will not keep his own daughter hostage. You will see you're Terran shortly, don't you worry." Sif rolled her eyes, tightening another braid and not taking much care to her worries; the girl was overreacting.

Skadi scoffed, rolling her eyes right back, glaring at the warrior through the mirror, "I'm not being paranoid. The Collector has the stone; it's not safe with him. He couldn't contain the Power Stone for five minutes before letting his stupid worker take it and nearly blow me and my Terran half to hell. Sif, please, it'll only take you not even a few hours, I'm really not asking for much."

"Skadi, I know this is tough for you, but your duty is towards Asgard. I understand you have other obligations, truly I do," Sif spoke solemnly but firmly, feeling as if she was talking to Thor when she tried convincing him to stay instead of returning to Earth to his team of Avengers and that woman. "But, Asgard is first. You're people should be your first focus and you need to respect Odin's wishes. And, his wishes is for the stone to remain with the Collector."

"My father is waltzing around like a pompous idiot," Skadi narrowed her eyes in disgust at how much her father had changed over the years and how blindly Sif was following him. "Come on Sif, you're smarter than this. Something is off here, I mean seriously how any of you are not questioning him is beyond me. I understand he's lost his wife and children, but this is Odin we're talking about, he's not this stupid."

Skadi was furious. Her father may have blindly almost sent her off to be wed to a fraud but her father took great care when it came to weapons of mass destruction. He would've kept it in his vault, where he keeps all things he'd gained over the years as a way to boost. There is no way in hell that he'd send off an Infinity Stone. Or would he? Had her father really not be as smart as she had thought he was as a child? Were the stories of the great and strong Odin just lies, was he really just a lazy, arrogant king all along and she was just too young to notice.

"He expects me to sit through a five hour long play about Loki? It's enough knowing what Loki did: betray the family, bring frost giants onto Asgard, nearly kill Thor and then go down to Earth and almost help Thanos, of all evil beings, to use Infinity Stones to take over the planet? It hurts enough knowing he did all that, and he expects me to sit through some badly written play trying to defend it and honor him. And that statue, don't even get me started on it."

Sif laughed as Skadi ranted, hoping she'd no longer press the whole going to Xandar thing further and happy that she was no longer a crying mess like she'd been the first two days after Odin told her about what Loki did. She'd take Skadi smearing her king's name over her crying any day, even though she'd only admit that to herself. Odin was still her king and she still had to show her respect to him. Sif moved back, finishing the last braid, tying them together and letting them sit over the hair she left flowing down her back.

"He's a broken man now. He's lost a lot." Sif tried to defend her king.

"Because of mistakes he made." Skadi exclaimed, like she usually did whenever Sif tried to defend her father. "If he'd never tried to force me to marry Ego I would have never left Asgard, if I was here when all of that happened when Thor was banished I know I could've gotten Loki to not make the decisions that he made and then none of this could've happened."

"Don't give yourself that much credit, Skadi. Loki is Loki, and he'd always relished for a chance to start mischief. He'd found out that he'd been lied to his entire life, you being there might've not stopped him from doing what he did." Sif retorted, knowing that her blaming herself for Loki's choices was not healthy for her.

"You don't know him like I did." Skadi frowned, standing up from her seat. She turned to face her friend, pleading evident in her eyes. "Please, I just need to make sure my conscious is clear. If anything happens to that stone and I knew about it, I'd never live with myself. I'll go now myself, I don't care."

Skadi placed her hands on her hips, knowing that Sif would still not listen to her but she would try anyways. She knew that Sif was loyal to the crown and her father still outranked her in that respect but Skadi could only hope. She watched as Sif seemed to think about it more deeply as she made her way towards the door.

It was true, in the confines of closed doors, Sif and the Warriors Three had questioned certain things their king had done over the last few years. They no longer interfered with their realms day to day life, as they used too, instead Odin saying that all was for once well in the realms. There were other things as well, like how Skadi mentioned; his sudden obsession with defending Loki and painting a completely different picture of him did worry Sif and the Three, but who were they to question their King?

The princess knew she was asking deaf ears and frowned, knowing that the only thing she'd get today was being stuck watching a stupid play with her father. Sif frowned, seeing Skadi's deflated being. She knew the girl just wanted to make sure everything was well in the universe. And it was true, after seeing where they were delivering the stone to, Sif did question the stature of the place that Odin trusted the stone to be kept at.

"I swear, if you don't pay me back for this I will forever make sure you wear dresses that you hate." Sif said, surprising Skadi out of her bad mood.

"You'll do it?" Skadi nearly jumped with joy. "I swear on all the gods that I will forever be in your debt and will literally kiss the ground you walk on."

"I'll sneak off while everyone's at the play," Sif said angrily, but knew that it was properly the right thing to do. And how would Odin even find out it was her who did it? Skurge was too stupid to realize what was happening if Sif just came up with some dumb excuse. "I'll just tell Skurge Odin sent me on a mission. He's an idiot so he won't question it." Sif just shook her head without a word, putting her hand on the doorknob.

Skadi bounded across the room and engulfed Sif in a tight hug, knowing that the woman hated them but didn't care. She made it quick, letting her go before patting down her dress. The next few hours would be more torturous now that she'd not only have to sit through this play but now be waiting for Sif to return with news of her informing the Nova Core about the stone.