Hello, everyone! Welcome to my very first story! As usual, I don't own Thor or the Marvel francise :(.
Now, without further ado, here's the full summary-
Freya Odinsdottir had always been different. From the moment she was brought to Asgard, Frigga had known that she would be great. When a prideful Thor gets banished to Midgard, Freya is instructed to follow and make sure he doesn't get himself killed, and protect him from the dangers he would be too weak to fight against. But what will she do when her true parentage is revealed? Will she finally crack?
Quick answer to some questions: yes, Freya is my OC. She isn't related to the real Freya from Norse Mythology, though she is slightly based off her. No, I'm not trying to plagiarize anyone, Freya is the product of too much caffeine and too much spare time combined with my ridiculous imagination :). This story will change several big things in both the Thor and Avengers storylines, so enjoy!
It was a dark night on Asgard.
The Aesir warriors were weary, yet proud. They had defeated their enemies, the Jotuns, in battle. They had been victorious, and had established a benefiting treaty between the two Realms.
Now, they trudged back to their homes as the daylight broke over the horizon, golden rays shining down on their houses. The Royal Palace of Valaskjalf glittered brightly, as the ancient King of Asgard was heralded back into his Realm. "Welcome, King, welcome!" his subjects cheered.
But Odin only had eyes for his Queen, Frigga.
He didn't stay long for celebrations, and instead visited Frigga in her chambers. "I have news," his gravelly voice spoke from the shadows. Frigga looked up from their firstborn son's cradle. "News?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. Odin beckoned her closer, and revealed the newborn Jotun babes in his arms.
Frigga gasped.
"Oh, Odin, what've you done?" She was horrified. "To separate any babe from its mother is the gravest of offences!"
Odin stared at her with his one eye.
"They were cast out, in the cold, to freeze," he argued.
"They are Jotun! It is a welcoming rite! The cold does not affect them!" Frigga cried. The other was quiet."I… have reason to believe they may be the offspring of Laufey," Odin said finally, revealing the true reason why he had taken the children. He sighed. "They are vital to the treaty between Asgard and Jotunheim."
Frigga gave him an unblinking stare.
"I see," she said in a measured tone.
"Will you care for them?" Odin asked. "Oh, as if they were my own." Frigga looked at him with the fire only a mother could possess. "The only question here is, will you care for them? Might I remind you, a child does not choose where it comes from."
She knew all too well how Aesir could treat the ones who stood out from the rest.
"No one will know their true heritage," Odin promised. "The Jotun are shape-shifters, and the babes will change shape to fit that of the Aesir." Even as he spoke, the sleeping babes shivered, their blue skin changing to a fair tone. Their hair turned raven black, and they clutched the other's hand tightly, as if afraid they would be separated.
"Identical twins," Frigga murmured, resisting the urge to shoot Odin a dirty look. Odin knew she was disappointed in him, but there was no other way.
Asgard had to be protected.
"They have vast potential for seidr inside them," she sniffed, looking away. "I will teach them how to harness it."
"Even the boy?"
"Yes, Odin. Even the boy." Frigga stared at him, daring him to argue. "The Aesir may not take well to that," Odin warned. "If the boy wants to be taught, then he shall be taught," Frigga conceded. She looked at Odin with a challenging expression. "As with the girl, should she wish to be a warrior, she will be trained accordingly."
The King of Asgard knew there was no use arguing with her.
"Very well," he sighed, leaving the room with a soft swish of his cloak.
Frigga watched him leave, then looked back down to the small children in her arms. She sighed, touching her forehead to theirs.
"I'm so very sorry," she whispered.
She felt a small fluttering of eyelashes, and gazed into the wide, innocent eyes of the girl. The Jotun's eyes flickered with different colours, as if she were unsure of what her eye colour should be. She settled on the most vibrant green Frigga had ever seen, and gave a soft sigh of contentment when Frigga smiled, eyes fluttering shut.
It was then that Frigga realised that the twins did not have a name.
She debated over a choice, then quietly whispered, "welcome to Asgard, Freya Odinsdottir, and Loki Odinson." A small flash of golden light signified that the Norns had accepted the new names. Frigga kissed the two raven-haired babes on their foreheads and conjured up two separate cradles for them to sleep in.
As if instinctively knowing that Frigga was their protector, the twins allowed themselves to be separated and were soon quietly dozing away.
—-
As the twins grew more accustomed to their surroundings, Frigga began to see several changes in them.
Freya's hair changed from raven black to a beautiful, fiery red. It cascaded down her back, slowly fading into golden ringlets. Her eyes still changed colour depending on her mood. Her temper was fierce, yet she did not create a tantrum like many others her age would do. She observed, her eyes scarily calculating, before enacting her revenge in a way that no one could trace back to her.
Overall, though, she was an innocent child. She laughed, she played, she fell down and cried.
Loki's hair and eyes remained the same, yet soon developed a mischievous glint to them, and a sharp gleam - a thirst to know. He spent hours in the libraries with Freya, and could fixate on a book for many days, sometimes forgetting to eat or sleep. Frigga often found them in there, snoring softly, towers of books and ancient tomes scattered around.
Yes, Frigga mused. The two loved to read. They were so very similar, yet so very different.
Freya was a powerful, natural sorcerer; she used seidr for almost everything, almost subconsciously. It was a part of her, just like her bones and blood were. Her mind was one of the sharpest that Frigga had ever known, absorbing information at an almost alarming rate. And while she could spend all day in the library if she wished, Freya would venture outside, gather not just information, but experience.
Loki had a little more trouble with his seidr - he lacked imagination, and that was what set him back. He tried to use logic in almost everything, and had to rely on Freya and Frigga to teach him to let his consciousness free. It had been quite a revelation for him that, sometimes, even his trusty books could be wrong.
Frigga chuckled as she recalled his shocked look.
Then she sobered.
The twins were only a few decades old, still in their childhood, and they attracted attention wherever they went. The Aesir…accepted them, but the two were outcasts. Freya, for being an intelligent woman and a shape-shifter, and Loki, simply for being a male who used seidr.
The twins were too young to understand what it meant, but Frigga tried her best to make sure they would never know.
Thor, their boisterous older brother, was particularly protective of Freya. Even though she had proven countless times that she was just as strong and brave as everyone else, the Aesir refused to think of her as anything other than a pretty, weak Princess, known only for her beautiful looks.
Frigga feared that they might turn her away almost completely when she inevitably lashed out at the insults. She feared that Freya might be a name that the Aesir began to hate and regard with suspicion, rather than love and acceptance.
She'd seen how Loki tried to interact with other boys his age, only to be forcefully turned away. Frigga knew she could not interfere, as she wanted him to have friends who didn't stick around only because of his royal status.
Odin, for all his wisdom, clearly favoured Thor over Freya and Loki.
At least, Loki was slightly spared, but Odin simply couldn't look at Freya with something akin to disappointment and suspicion. Frigga knew he'd once had a daughter who'd gone evil, but it was no excuse for his behaviour.
And then, the most shocking change came.
Desperate to gain some approval, Freya transformed into a man.
She called herself - himself - Frey, and presented himself to Odin, only to be rejected, again.
Frigga could still see that moment now, when Frey's hopeful, excited face collapsed into a shattered expression, his eyes filled with such unbearable sadness, before smoothing over into an emotionless mask. Nodding his acceptance, he turned on his heel and strode back to his chambers, emerald cloak flaring.
Frigga's heart ached.
"You told me you would care for them," she murmured.
—-
Things didn't get any better as the twins grew up.
Freya remained female for most of the time, but the incident with Frey had left her scarred. She never spoke of it again, but her behaviour had changed.
She sounded older, more tired.
Frigga could hear stifled sobs as she walked past Freya's chambers at night, and however much she wanted her to, Freya wouldn't listen to Frigga's soothing words. Loki was perhaps the only one who could get her to do something, and Frigga spotted him sometimes, sneaking into her chambers with a small cup of warm nectar in his hands.
They would stay there, Loki offering silent comfort to his stricken sister.
Over time, Freya became cold and distant, a regal beauty, to all but her twin, Loki. Her magic became as sharp and quick as her mind, and she transformed into a true royal of Asgard. Frigga still treated her the same as before, her beloved only daughter, and while Freya was still open with her, Frigga knew she wasn't disclosing everything to her anymore.
And it hurt more than she thought it would.
The new Freya didn't let any misconceptions about her being a weak Princess slide; she became an expert in the art of battle and strategy, and challenged the unfortunate soul who had dared to mock her to a duel, and always ended up as the victor.
She even crafted her own sword, named it Sumarbrander, made of a metal that Freya had created herself. She confided to Frigga that the sword was simply a distraction from the numerous knives and daggers hidden on her person, to which Frigga could only nod.
Frigga was worried for her. No being could hold in all their emotions for such a lengthened amount of time. Freya's magic responded to her will and emotions, and it was, at its core, completely wild, unlike Loki's, which was carefully controlled.
Frigga worried for what could happen if all those pent-up emotions got released all at once.
She looked up as the throne room's doors slammed open. In came a messenger, his face bloodied and roughed up. His clothes were in tatters, sweat beading his forehead. Surprisingly, he was not carrying a scroll for the All-Father to address.
"Invasion!" He cried.
