Authors note
What did everyone think of the finale? Let's just say this will not be matching up with that timeline… which is a shame because I've figured out how this fits in with canon all the way to the very last avengers film...
All Asgardian couples, Frigga had explained shortly after Aela's arrival on Asgard, exchange a gift to signify their engagement.
"Like a ring?' Aela had queried, knowing it was the custom of many realms.
"It could be. Traditionally, it would be an heirloom or something of personal meaning", she was the picture of a Queen, sat beneath a trellis roof groaning under the weight of its flowers. She gently ran her finger along the edge of one, bringing it to her face to properly enjoy its scent. Aela couldn't help but try and mirror her way of sitting, lounging without looking unkempt or lazy. Ankles crossed, legs long and peeking from the slit of a gathered, draped dress.
"Odin, for example," she explained, gesturing to the miles of manicured hedging and sweet-smelling flowers, "gave me this garden. He knew my love of flowers and brought me and all my people here, to Asgard. When I happily accepted the proposal he brought me into these grounds, where flower nymphs ensured everything bloomed precisely as I passed"
Aela sighed at the image, picturing a younger Frigga at home in these magical gardens. Blooms opening as she passed, their scent intermingling as she moved towards her fate as the ruler of these lands. Trying to imagine Thor doing the same. The cave had been beautiful, though he'd openly admitted that it had been Loki's idea. Who knew what kind of gift Thor would give her if he had to come up with it alone; rather than with the help of his friends and family. She could picture him copying his father, or giving her something utterly useless.
"I have given Thor such a gift, as per Niflheim customs. My fur, and the dagger"
"Indeed you have. Thor, however, needs to publicly accept them and offer you something in return. I will ask Thor to bring the items to your chambers, and we will plan the exchange ceremony to take place roughly 3 months before the wedding"
She waved a hand and their glasses of water slid to the side; a book appearing in the centre of the table. "Now Aela, onto gown designs"
The sun held a promise of brightness as the ceremony finally occurred. The world was awash with blush, the sunrise peeking over the horizon of the wildflower meadow where Aela and Loki stood, only the Bjornlings there to witness the exchanging of gifts. The dagger and fur, cast aside by Thor after their first meeting. The bracelets, already given. Nothing that would arouse suspicion for being new, but two things that held great meaning for the givers and recipients. Loki held the dagger as if it were an object of worship, casting one of his own aside and glamouring the two to match. Not quite Nifl, not quite Asgardian; but a blend. Runes and sleek lines, green and gold and a deadly sheen in the soft morning sun.
The furs he'd cradled, accepting the offered item and promising that when the time came it would line their child's cot. That the future heir of Asgard would lay within them, would feel the stroke of their warmth across his back.
He'd opened his hands, going from empty to full in a flourish of magic. Within each was a fire opal, small but beautiful. He refreshed the magic on the bracelets as he infused the stones - hands laying across the metal cuffs as he poured his abilities within. "I cannot give you an engagement ring, but these fire opals are yours, as they were always meant to be. My Queen"
She'd been captivated by the glow of the stones in the sunrise as they'd broken fast together as a group, sharing fresh jellies and cheese, soft bread and pastries.
They didn't glow now. There was so little light in this area that they looked dim and red. Aela's face stung from the removal procedure; though they'd been unable to take her bracelets from her. At least 4 people had tried, but their magic wasn't enough to override whatever spell he'd used on the pieces. The magic was dim though and had been since she'd lost him. She could only assume it would either remain as it was, weak and barely there; or would eventually fade completely. It meant the cold of this land had begun to seep in, to settle in her bones. Snow she was used to, but this constant wetness, the chill in the air…it seemed to feed on her sadness. Both were her shackles. Handcuffs, binding her to the man she'd lost. Willingly worn, unable to be removed.
Unlike her tattoos. What was once a carefully crafted explosion of colour on her face was now simply black. Flat and ugly, exactly how she felt. Some went in with one or two tattoos and came out clean, bare, save for a black mark to show they belonged to the forsaken. Others, they'd explained to Aela once she awoke, were harder. The blue lines that traced down her cheeks were gone, no longer evidencing her battle in Asgard. The lines on her lips, her chin, her neck - all gone. She felt odd without them, ghosting fingers over lips that used to have a texture from the magic. Her forehead however was now black, from almost at her hairline to her cheekbones. It wasn't neat, instead of looking like soot had been gathered and slid across her face. Smeared.
They were too recent, too powerful to be simply removed. Her own god magic, Loki's…both had been poured into her marriage marks on her forehead. She'd planned an intricate lace design, but strayed from it at the last moment for simplicity. Circles, bright white like the moon that had graced her with its light and guidance so many times. White like the bone she wore around her neck even now. White like the snow of both of their homelands, as they'd discovered together. She'd held him for hours as he cried, lit by nothing but moonlight in the field they'd claimed for their own following their exchange. It had been full, reflecting off the riverside brightly. Showing the blue of his skin, the raised lines that marked him as a frost giant.
He'd tried to pull away as she moved to touch him, remembering the burns their skin caused to the others but she held him tightly, showing that no Nifl could be harmed by the cold. They'd made love under that moon, and she'd said nothing as he shifted back into the Asgardian form she knew so well. She didn't care what form he took, and told him so in the afterglow. Male, female, Frost giant or Asgardian. She loved all equally.
Her moons were now gone. Hidden by the cloud cover of darkness that splashed across her face anew. All the links to her past life, the story her face used to tell. All gone. The effect was fearsome. Gone was the hair and gowns that had softened her. The trappings she wielded as armour against people's expectations. If they saw her muscles, her weapons, they saw a fighter. If they simply saw the ballgowns, the plaits, they saw a princess. And then a Queen. They knew she was a fighter, of course; they'd seen it, heard the tales. But she was still their princess, their exotic beauty with her stature and horns.
As she looked in the mirror now, waiting for Themsal to return all she saw was the fighter. Her horns were bare, ridged and black and stark against the peppered beginnings of stubble. Her new armour was purely functional, highlighting her strength and stature. And the black mark was the final touch, contrasting against the paleness of her skin, a visible tear across her face. She bared her fangs in a snarl, smirking slightly afterwards at the mere mental image of showing this version of herself to the Asgardian nobles.
What they'd make of her, looking like she'd crawled from some fiery pit and was smeared in the soot of what she'd left behind. They'd treated her like a barbarian anyway - until she'd danced and simpered and hidden her toned form under yards of gauzy fabric. Treated her like a warrior after she'd protected her own, but a lady first. It had felt like a contagion, her gender, that she had needed to overcome to be taken seriously.
I understand she can wield an axe, but where can it be hidden in the latest designs? Look at her beauty instead, in that simply spectacular gown
It was relieving, in a way, to just be the warrior. It fitted, in a way the lady, the queen, never did. She'd always been able to feel the power that Loki's mother had held, but she was the perfect lady first. Impeccable in manners and dress, formidable, verbally and magically.
Alongside her…Aela had to admit feeling a certain amount of uncertainty, of feeling different.
"Aela"
She turned - heart racing at the sight of Themsals rapidly approaching form. His arms opened as if to draw her into an embrace, but paused. "May I...may I?" He asked, and she paused for a second, unsure whether she wanted the physical contact before finally stepping forwards, the breath punched from her lungs as his strong arms enveloped her. One hand spread along her back, grounding her with its size. She was so tall in Asgard that it was nice to be amongst a true Nifl - a giant of a person - again.
"What is Ancestors name are you doing here Aela?"
She scoffed. "I rather think that's obvious, don't you"
"It isn't. Did your father send you here to assist me? To...realign the forces?"
Aela blinked. "Realign?"
He pulled her in tight once more, breath warm as it ghosted over her ears. "There are ears, Aela. I have been trying to beg for help in my letters to your father, to tell him the situation here. The forces are his, of course, but only in name. They are the firm property of the Lieutenant General in reality"
"It was one of his men that brought us in?"
"Indeed. They have been...arranging for friends and family to be brought here, to ascend the ranks quickly. Your father suspected the reins were being loosened when he sent me here to keep an eye"
She pulled back slightly "That was years ago!"
"It was, but I am loyal and enjoy my work so...it has brought me much joy to see you though, my little dragonling"
Aela laughed, a small huff of air expelled from the beginnings of a smile. "Not such a little dragonling anymore"
He pulled back fully, truly analysing her. "No. Not so much. I can see you remained dedicated to your training. Ancestors above and below, I remember how excited you were when I fit you for your first little pieces of armour. When you were finally allowed to switch to metal swords and arrows...We were all smitten"
"I have been told I was adorable, and going by the portraits... I cannot help but agree"
He laughed again, and she could feel the warmth in his eyes crack the walls she'd constructed. How many weeks had it been since anyone had looked at her like that? Like...someone worthy of love. Her parents might have, in honesty. Her sister. She would know if she could fully remember the scene. If it didn't feel hazy, as if covered in fog as thick as the weather outside Themsal's tent.
"Your sister was a wonderful child and charmed the scholars, but every time you came in from the fighting arenas with the soldiers, all of you covered in mud and bruises...I broke fast with them in the evening and they would always smile whilst recounting what you'd learned that day. When you finally knocked one of them on their ass…" He smiled wistfully, remembering the cheers, how they'd heard the commotion from inside and had come out to look. How he'd stood alongside her father at one of the balconies off the main hall, laughing together as Aela slammed one small foot onto the chest of the downed soldier.
"Your father knew from the time you were young that you'd have been the best General"
"Still went to Astrid though" she sighed. "Regardless"
He'd nodded. Lips thin with an awkward smile, mood dimmed as the reality set in. "Find your place here and come to me, we'll work together. Your father wouldn't have sent you here if he didn't intend for you to help"
"It was all he could do" she'd muttered.
"Another time" he'd promised, knowing better than to ask her to recount her tale. Seeing the shadows in her eyes, the fire that lingered beneath defeat.
She'd left the tent in her perfectly fitting armour. Simple, nothing to differentiate her from the others, but snug as anything she'd have worn outside of this hellscape. Movement loose and comfortable. The weaponsmith handed her two axes, and she spun them; checking the balance before sheathing them in their holders and leaving, fastening it as she went. All she wanted was to sit, and try to eat, and sleep. Unconsciousness hadn't waned her fatigue, and she could feel the frame of it around her vision, her movements.
The food was some kind of thick porridge broth, but she barely cared as she collapsed on one of the many dragged over, scuffed logs. As someone joined her, perched on the other end of the wood. As far away as they could manage. Aela glanced and realised she knew them from the carriage over. A thin...person. It was hard to tell under the dirt, though she didn't really care. Man, woman, neither, they looked terrified and she couldn't help but think of Hilde amongst all the warriors on her first day of training. Slim, slight and in entirely unfamiliar surroundings.
The others around the fire were walking loudly, not acknowledging the newcomers. Not caring for the fresh meat that had deposited itself within their ranks.
"We haven't told anyone, by the way"
Aela glanced, shovelling the tasteless slop into her mouth - ravenous as soon as it touched her lips.
The youngster followed suit, talking amongst a full mouth. "Myself and the others, I mean. The ones who were in the tent. We talked, after we all came out from our" he gulped "Branding"
Aela hesitated. "Thank you". She turned to the fire, watching it dance. "Why?"
They coughed as Aela's question took them by surprise. "What do you mean?"
"You could get a lot, for it. Knowledge such as that. Why not tell?"
"You seem nice"
"I...I'm sorry what?" she asked, incredulous. "What in the Ancestors name do you base that on?"
She fixed them with a look. If this was their first time trying to blackmail someone, it was really showing. And if that was the case, she'd simply find some way of ending the situation. Peacefully, or no. She told the newcomer as such, watching the blood leave their face with sick satisfaction.
"You're really fucking this up Sam"
Aela sighed. "Fantastic, another one"
"Look" the newcomer said, blonde hair plaited back away from their face. Sliding between the tense conversation to stretch out, close to Aela. "I'm Asgardian, okay?"
Aela refrained from answering, choosing instead to just level the two with a look.
The Asgardian spoke quickly, in lowered tones. "I'm from Asgard. I saw you, we all did. My brother was one of the guards in the palace. You saved Thor and Loki and the others from that frost gianty thing, you were decent, and whatever happened...well he had nothing but good things to say about you"
"And you took out that guy in the cart like some kind of wild animal!"
"And that, my brother told me stories of you and your bears in the training halls and it didn't seem possible until his windpipe hit the floor by my feet"
Aela smirked. Nodded. "He got too close"
"We all do things for love" the Asgardian concluded, holding out a hand. Callused, scarred. "You maybe went a bit further than most, but I can respect that. We all can. So, just know we've got your back. And in return...Sam here is a talented archer…" She looked the slim elf up and down. "Apparently. Just needs feeding up and refreshing apparently. Train with us?"
Aela considered it. "An alliance?"
"Exactly!"
"Fine. What's your name, Asgardian?"
"Bodil" she grinned, revealing a missing tooth at the side of the grin. "We've staked out a tent already, you look like you're about to drop"
Temporary or permanent, Aela wasn't sure. But Ancestors knew she needed to sleep. And if they betrayed her...well she'd decide then. Slaughter everyone in this camp until they finally felled her. Die a warrior and join the Ancestors with pride...or let them see how infallible she really was. How little their false words would shake her.
If Themsal was right though, if things weren't as she had always thought them to be...She would need allies. People to fight alongside her, to stand behind her. It was worth the risk, for now.