Exams are over! Meaning I have one week to somewhat relax before the second semester starts... And stress about my grades... Life you know...

Anyway, here's a new chapter for you, I hope you like it. ENJOY!

PS: I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Chapter 65

Arya nervously shifted on her spot, hidden away in the shadow of a pillar in the Great Hall. Her untouched goblet of wine trembled in her shaking hands while her eyes tensely scanned the rest of the hall, but the lean form of the man she loved was nowhere to be seen.

According to the Midgardian calendar it was the thirty-first of December, close to midnight. On Asgard that meant that the Jul Festival, the festival of the Winter Solstice, which had kept the entire realm celebrating for the last ten days, was coming to an end. That on its own seemed enough reason to drink an extra few cups of wine and party one last time until dawn would drag everyone back to their normal lives.

The Great Hall was crowded beyond measure. People from all classes were celebrating the end of another year together. Tables lined with food from every corner of the nine realms where placed throughout the Hall, music was playing, people were singing and dancing, talking and joking… In the front of the room stood the throne at the top of the stairs where Odin sat. He looked pleased and was joining his Lords and his guest from the different realms in the celebrations. Arya let her eyes float down the stairs. Thor was having a drunk arm wrestle with Lady Sif while guards and citizens alike where cheering around them. Hogun had joined Volstagg at an overflowing table drinking and eating the night away. It took her a few minutes, but before long Arya also spotted Fandral, complexly wasted, making out with equally wasted girls in a corner of the room, obviously thinking they were being subtle. Arya felt her blood raise to her cheeks at the sight of the "erotic affaires" of her friend. Not that she envied those girls, no, not even close. The only problem was that it reminded her of Loki, more precisely of what had happened last night and why she was so eager and at the same time frightened too see him again tonight.

In fact, Arya had to admit she couldn't remember much. Just like every night during the Jul Festival the evening had been filled with laughter and drinking. She and Loki had been dating since about the start of the festival. The celebrations were therefor also the perfect excuse to see each other every day. Arya had to admit things were turning out better then she'd ever hoped for. Loki was like a playful child, smiling from dawn till dusk whenever she was around. He always had something planned for her. Their first actual "date" had been in the library, since it was pretty hard to find a somewhat privet spot within the palace walls. They'd talked for hours and when Arya least expected it, Loki would appear next to her and put an arm around her, kiss her cheek, her neck or her head. Every time Loki came close to her, Arya would feel more and more comfortable until, somewhere around the end of their first date, she found herself leaning into Loki's embrace, letting her head rest against his shoulder. To her pure delight, she felled him shiver for a second as if he'd been dreaming of this just as long as she had. During the festival both of them would always find an excuse to be in the same room, do the same chores or volunteer when something had to be done. It seemed the guards where in a real festive spirit, because every time Loki and Arya would turn up at the gates towards the stables or the warehouse outside the palace to get some supplies, they agreed that Arya, their ex-Captain, would suffice instead of two guards accompanying Loki. The young couple treasured the short moments they had together second by second, but it never had turned into anything more than a few hugs and playful kisses, a lot of giggling and excited whispers. Until last night…

All Arya could remember were fragments. One moment they'd been at the party, right here in the Great Hall, finally able to get rid of the others and disappear to a corner. And the other moment they'd been in Loki's chambers. Arya couldn't remember how she got there and even less of what followed. All that remained was that blissful feeling when she'd thought back to it and that absolute horror when she'd woken up next to Loki the next morning, not knowing how exactly she got there.

Arya sighed and rubbed her forehead while she tried to think of something else, but whatever thought she came up with would hopelessly end up being connected to Loki in some way or another.

Getting out of Loki's chamber had been a real challenge since guards were always patrolling nearby. It was a mystery how they had managed not to run into any the night before. But the biggest problem turned out to be Loki himself. He just kept begging her to stay.

"No one even cares where we are…," he'd said with that simply unfair grin playing on his lips. Perhaps leaving would have been easier if Loki had let go of her for a second. Anyway, Arya didn't know why she had been so upset this morning. She'd been dreaming of this since the first time she'd allowed herself to fall in love with the mysterious prince. There was simply no reason for her to react like this. Perhaps she felt bad because she'd been pretty drunk… But then again, that wasn't a problem. She loved Loki more than anything in the world. Perhaps she hated how she just couldn't find the strength to tell anyone. Was she embarrassed? No, of course not! Why would she… Was she scared of what people would say? Maybe…

Her quick departure this morning certainly had left a mark on Loki, because the last look he gave her wasn't a smile at all. Just that sad look that told her he wanted to understand, but really didn't. She'd hurt him, perhaps even scared him… Was that why she hadn't seen him all day? No, Arya knew that Odin had ordered a emergency meeting in the afternoon about some troubles the Light Elves had brought the attention to. Loki had been forced to be present even though he really wasn't much help at all. Arya didn't know what had been discussed earlier that day, but she'd picked up some whispers about the Elves wanting more input in Asgardian economics, especially deals concerning fancy weapons, which had always caused trouble between the Elves and the Dwarfs. Asgard had always tried to rely mostly on the Dwarfs since their products were stronger, made faster and most importantly a lot cheaper since the Dwarfs only desired fame over money. However, when the Elves were granted the time and money, they could produce the most magnificent of weapons, often topped off with a spark of magic, giving their products special qualities. It was quite typical the Elves would bring these problems forward during the celebrations where everyone could hear their complaints. Naturally the Dwarfs had smelled the upcoming danger. Yet, of course, no festival would be complete with an old fashion discussion between the fiery dwarfs and the cold, emotionless Elves.

However, it seemed they'd reached some kind of compromise, because both the Elves and Dwarfs seemed to enjoy the celebrations at Odin's side. Midnight was only thirty minutes away and Arya felt quite stupid being all on her own. Luckily an excited white wolf cub came to the rescue. Prince jumped up against her legs and almost made her loose her balance.

"Prince!" Frigga's voice sounded. A second later the young princess appeared at Arya's side, quickly followed by her mother. Frigga was wearing her own magnificent piece of armour and although she seemed tired, her blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Hi Arya!" she exclaimed while trying hard to keep Prince from running her over. "What are you doing here, all by yourself?"

"Yeah…," Jane joined in with a mysterious smile. "I almost expected you to be with Loki, since you've spend so much time with him lately."

Arya blushed and looked at her cup of wine, if only not to look into Jane's curious eyes. "Yeah… I haven't seen him all day actually," she said, surprised about how steady her voice sounded.

"It's almost midnight! New Year!" Frigga happily shouted, diverting Jane's attention back to her. The mother smiled and stroke her daughter's head. These last days, Frigga had always tried to stay up late to party with the other Asgardians, so obviously she'd collapsed that morning. But now, after a whole day of sleeping she was ready for New Year, even though she'd probably fall asleep again within the next two hours.

"Having fun!" a loud voice suddenly roared. Arya looked up and found Thor standing next to her as well. Sif had also joined them. Both of them looked quite tipsy, but skilfully managed to hide it as much as possible. "What would you say if we retreat to a quieter place and celebrate New Year together?" Thor proposed. Arya smiled softly. She'd love to, if only Loki would be there as well.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Sif answered for her. The female warrior turned around and pointed towards Fandral who was still very busy inspecting every inch of his drunk friends' bodies. "I'll go get Fandral before he hurts himself…," she said with a meaningful glare. Thor followed her pointing finger and smirked. "May Bor's blessing be with you…," he joked. "I'll get Hogun and Volstagg."

Sif nodded and turned around. The others could see her walk over to Fandral. She abruptly hit her friend on the shoulder to get his attention and seemed to say something to his female friends. Whatever it was, it obviously upset a few of the girls, because they dramatically took turns hitting Fandral across the cheek, before striding off. Sif casually made her way back to the others with a sulking Fandral in her wake. The golden warrior obviously had a lot of trouble walking in a straight line.

"That wasn't necessary!" he said, rubbing his red cheeks, when they'd finally joined the group.

"You'll thank me later!" Sif answered with a grin. "And besides, you'd get smacked anyway, somewhere in the course of the night, so better get it over with that much faster."

Fandral smirked. "You're truly hilarious, my lady!" he said.

In the meantime, Hogun, Volstagg and Thor joined the group as well. Volstagg's arms were filled with fruit, meat and all kinds of pies. "I'm bringing snacks!" he said innocently. Arya smiled and looked around, hoping Loki would turn up. As if he could read her mind, Fandral suddenly asked: "Where's Loki? Isn't he joining us?"

Thor raised his shoulders. "I don't know," he said. "I didn't see him after the meeting this afternoon. I think he must have been in his chambers." Arya frowned to herself. She hadn't checked there… Why not?

"Well, he's missing out on a lot of fun!" Volstagg said with a smile. "Shall we proceed?"

Everyone nodded and the group left the Great Hall. They walked for a few minutes before entering their common room, with a burning fire in the middle, silently waiting for them. Chattering and laughing everyone took a seat. Arya watched the other in silence while a conversation started. Frigga eagerly ran around the room with Prince in her wake.

"So Fandral," Thor started with a smile. "Are we to expect you to have found the one, or is our faith in your wooing abilities in vain?"

Fandral laughed and smirked. "Finding the one would only lead to a life of meaningless misery! Look at yourself, my friend!"

Everyone laughed while Jane made her way to her husband's chair. "At least he found himself a woman!" Jane threw back with a smile. "That cannot be said of most of you!"

Fandral grinned innocently while the others laughed. Thor lookup up to meet his wife in a soft kiss. "And what a woman I have!" he added with a loving glare in his blue eyes while lifting Jane of feet before placing her across his lap.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Frigga called out with a look of disgust on her young face. "You're gross!"

"It's true though!" Sif said. "You guys are pathetically single!"

"Who is talking?" Volstagg asked with a grin. "It's been a while since we saw you getting cosy with anyone!"

"If only Asgard had someone worthy of my time…," Sif answered innocently, with the expected laughter in response.

"The only serious guy I remember must have been Loki…," Fandral continued with a grin.

Sif immediately got to her feet and threw her empty goblet towards her friend. "I never dated Loki!" she yelled. "He might have had a crush on me, by I… Heavens no!"

"That's what you want us to belief, Sif...," Fandral said. Sif smirked and cast a murderous glare on the golden warrior. "I belief Lord Fandral had finally lost his mind! You're delusional!"

Thor laughed and took another gulp of wine. "I belief I would have noticed if my brother was messing about with my best friend."

"That's very kind of you, Thor!" Fandral answered with a smile. "But Loki's not my type…"

Another burst of laughter filled the room, only Arya awkwardly shifted in her seat. Luckily Frigga had come over to her since she wasn't really getting the conversation the grownups were having and had decided to show Arya some of her new magic tricks.

"Besides," Thor said after the laughter had died. "Sif isn't Loki's type…"

"Exactly!" Sif confirmed with a meaningful glare.

"Loki has a type?" Volstagg asked with tears in his eyes. Sif rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Sure he does…," Thor answered. "Like…"

"Dark and creepy?" Volstagg interrupted with a smile.

"Dwarfish?" Hogun joined in, sharing one of his rare smile with the others.

"Or rather Elvish?" Volstagg finished with a playful grin.

Jane and Sif shared an almost invisible glare of worry and quickly fixed their eyes on the young warrior who had silently been following the conversation. Perhaps this wasn't exactly going the way she wanted. But Arya seemed rather engaged with Frigga's little magic demonstration. So the two women figured it didn't bother her that much.

"You two are terrible!" Thor said with a smile while shaking his head. "Poor brother of mine…"

"Loki's more for the quiet type, less annoying and less dramatic than Sif!" Fandral said. Sif threw another pillow towards his face.

"What!" Fandral shouted while dodging the new attack. "I'm serious!"

Thor nodded with a grin. "Yes, Fandral's right! That's much more Loki's type!"

"Quiet and less dramatic…," Volstagg repeated, pretending to overthink his friends' words.

"Traits that would suit you well, my friend!" a new voice sounded. Everyone turned to see Loki walk in. He immediately made his way towards the bowl of fruit on the table against the wall, picked himself an apple before walking over to the fire.

Volstagg grinned. "I think I'd rather stay loud and dramatic!" he said. Loki looked around the room filled with grinning faces while taking a bite from his apple.

"I missed something…," he concluded.

"Not really…," Sif answered. Loki raised his shoulders and made his way towards Arya's chair. The raven-haired warrior and the blond little princes had immediately looked up when he'd entered. Loki smiled while leaning over the back of the chair so he could take a better look at Frigga's little magic orbs, floating in Arya's lap. Arya's sweet perfume greeted him like fresh flower scents on the first day of spring. He wanted nothing more than to bury his face in those locks and Arya's soft smile only seemed that much more inviting. Loki been wondering all day if he'd done something wrong, but Arya didn't seem cross with him, so he relaxed.

"Those are very good Frigga!" he said, gesturing to the floating silver orbs. The young girl smiled and nodded. "I was practising really hard!" she said proudly. Then she lend in closer over Arya's shoulder. "They were talking about you…," she whispered. "Are you in love with Sif?"

Loki's eyebrows shot halfway his forehead while he almost choked on a piece of apple. Arya couldn't really help herself. Somewhere she'd been afraid there was some truth in Fandral's joking, but Loki's reaction of absolute horror, made her relax. She smiled and couldn't suppress a short giggle which she instantly hid behind a soft cough.

"I am not!" Loki exclaimed. He looked up from Arya and Frigga to the others who seemed to need all their willpower not to burst into laughing. "What oaf…," he started, but Frigga quickly interrupted.

"It's okay, Loki!" she shushed. "They also said she's not your type…"

"She most certainly isn't!" Loki confirmed with a meaningful glare on Fandral. There was no question who had brought this up.

"That's what I said!" the golden warrior innocently answered.

"Yes… quiet and less dramatic! That doesn't mean anything!" Volstagg playfully said. "Give us a name, my friend!"

Before Loki could say anything more, Fandral raised his shoulders and smiled shortly. "Well that's easy!" he said. "Arya of course!"

"Arya?" Volstagg asked, softly sniggering.

"Yes! Arya!" Frigga shouted excitedly while clapping her hands. "Arya would be perfect!"

Arya and Loki both turned towards the young girl, surprise colouring their faces.

"Obviously!" Fandral added. "I mean, their dating anyway!"

Volstagg and Thor simultaneously choked on their wine and spit out half of the beverage on the carpet. Hogun froze in an attempt to take a bite form the pastry in his hand and Jane and Sif jerked their heads towards Loki and Arya, letting their eyes jump in between the two until they rested upon Arya, full of surprise and questions. Arya and Loki turned their eyes on Fandral. Arya couldn't belief what Fandral'd just said, while Loki wasn't fully sure what emotion suited the situation best, so he kept his poker face in place and slowly took another bite from his apple.

"Oh seriously?" Fandral asked with a high pitched voice. "Was I the only one who noticed this?"

Thor cleared his throat and forced out a chuckle, but when his brother's poker face melted into that cheeky smile he knew so well, he realised Fandral had to be right.

"What?" he asked more rudely than he meant. Jane gave him a hard punch in the stomach. Thor softly moaned and cast his wife a questioning frown. "I mean… seriously?" The God if Thunder turned to his brother. "Loki?"

Loki grinned and threw his finished apple into the bin before making his way to Arya's chair. He sat down and threw an arm around his girlfriend who still didn't seem to understand what just had happened, but Loki's sudden proximity made her relax. Whatever… they knew now. Why did she even worry in the first place?

"Yeah," Loki confirmed with a childlike sparkle playing in his light grey eyes. He felt Arya relax next to him. "Jealous?"

"But…," Thor tried.

"Arya…," Volstagg said after his friend fell silent. "It's Loki!"

"Absolutely!" the young warrior answered dreamingly, while turning towards the man next to her. To everyone's surprise, including herself, she bend forward, closing the few inches that were separating them in one swift motion and placed a soft kiss on Loki's lips. Loki froze for a second, but it was nothing compared to everyone else in the room, even Fandral.

"Ew!" a high voice sounded. "Ugh, old people!"

Arya and Loki turned towards the girl still standing next to their chair. The young princes tried to look disgusted, but her frown quickly melted into a big smile.

"See!" she cheered while gesturing towards the young couple. "Perfect!" Prince barked in agreement.

Jane and Sif looked at each other, but quickly decided that Frigga was right. The guys seemed to have a bit more trouble accepting the turn of events.

Arya turned towards Fandral. "But how did you figure it out?" she asked. She'd always had the feeling that Fandral had known something.

"Let us just agree on this, my lady…," Fandral said mysteriously. "The stables are my territory!"

Loki and Arya shared a look. Right…

Suddenly Sif looked up to the sky which was visible through the windows leading towards the balcony. Glowing orbs of light, rising from every part of the city were slowly filling the sky.

"It's midnight, my friends!" she called out. Slowly everyone got up from their chair and made their way outside on the balcony. Frigga ran forward and placed her hands on the balustrade, while looking up in awe. She'd seen some epic fireworks on Earth, but this was something else. It almost seemed like a thousand stars were climbing up towards the sky to join their kin.

"Wow!" she said with dreamy eyes. "It's so beautiful!"

Everyone remained quiet, so Frigga turned around, only to find all of her friends staring at her.

"What is it?" she asked.

Loki was standing closest to her, a bit to her left. He had his arms rapped around Arya who was standing in front of him. "Would you like one of those?" he asked while pointing towards the glowing orbs in the sky.

"Oh yes, please!" Frigga said with big eyes, full of wonder. Loki smiled.

"Well, normally, I'm the one making them for everyone, but I'm afraid I'm pathetically mortal. So perhaps we need a witch tonight…"

Frigga frowned for a second, but quickly understood.

"Me?" she asked in surprise. But the stares everyone was sending her said enough. The little girl swallowed.

"Did you make them for everyone in Asgard?" she asked Loki. Her uncle sniggered.

"No, of course not, I made them only for my friends. The healers master a basic form of magic, they make most of them. Naturally mine look a lot better…"

Frigga laughed and nodded. She turned around and made a quick head count. The warriors three, Lady Sif, her father, her mother, Arya and Loki. Nine including herself. She looked down on Prince. His little sapphire blue wolf eyes shone with encouragement. Prince had been there every time she practised. Even the tiniest bit of magic made him jump around in excitement and gave Frigga the courage to keep on practising. She'd been making orbs like these for weeks now, so it really shouldn't be a problem. But this time they had to be perfect! So the young princess rolled up her sleeves and concentrated while bringing her hands together. A heartbeat later, a soft silver light started glowing in between her palms, quickly growing in size and luminosity. The first one she gave to Loki, who passed it to Arya. The next eight orbs quickly followed, until everyone was holding a brightly shining orb floating above their palms. The silver light lit up the utter surprise and disbelief on Thor, Volstagg and Hogun's faces. They still couldn't rap their head around the couple in front of them. But Loki and Arya didn't mind.

Loki inspected the orb in his hands and smiled. Frigga had made some epic progress. In fact he was quite certain she would be ready for some more advanced magic pretty soon. At least if Odin would allow it.

"You know…," Sif's voice suddenly sounded. "I remember a time when no Jul Festival would pass without some unexpected tricks from Loki."

"Hmmm, yeah," Fandral answered with a tipsy smile. "Like that time your hair turned green around midnight and it stayed that way for an entire month?"

Sif cast an amused glare on her friend. "I'm just glad some things don't change!"

A soft chuckle filled the air while everyone breathed out in relief. Sif was right. Even after all the madness of the last years, some things would always remain the same. Loki smiled and pressed his lips on the back of Arya's head, fully engulfing himself in the sweet smell of her hair, while tightening his grip around her waist. He couldn't see it, but he was sure Arya was smiling.

"I don't belief I'll be able to do better next year…," he joked.

"Awww!" Frigga's voice sounded, immediately followed by the soft sounds of laughter.

"Only time will tell…," Thor said after a short silence, finally allowing himself to just roll with the situation at hand. He had to be honest, it'd been a very long time since he'd seen Loki this happy. He lifted his hands up until the silver orb in his palms was at eye level. "May we have another great year ahead of us."

"If it's all the same to you, my friend, I'd rather have a better one!" Fandral said with a grin.

"Agreed!" Volstagg said.

Loki turned to his friends with fake innocence colouring his light grey eyes. "Why, my friends…. You make it sound as if something went south this year?"

"Let us learn from our mistakes…," Sif answered with a meaningful look towards her mischievous friend.

"Mistakes?" Loki said while resting his chin back on Arya's head. "That word is unfamiliar to me…"

"Let us be less cocky…," Fandral added.

"Yeah, Fandral!" Arya answered with an amused grin.

Fandral smirked. "Let us also go back to Lord Fandral!"

Everyone laughed into the cold night air.

"Let us all stand together, no matter what may come our way!" Hogun said to everyone's surprise, but there was no denying they all agreed.

Frigga looked at the people around her with a big beautiful smile under her sparkling eyes. "Happy New Year!" she said cheerfully. Prince barked in agreement.

"Absolutely!" Thor said with a smile towards his daughter. "Happy New Year indeed!"

With that said, The God of Thunder let go of the silver globe in his palms. The others followed his example and watched the nine globes rise to the sky. Prince excitedly ran up and down the balcony until he realised he wouldn't be able to catch the orbs anymore. So he jumped up against the balustrade and howled at the night sky. It was a howl filled with hope and promises for the upcoming year.

So there you go! I know not much happened, but I'm already busy writing the next chapter and I've got some action planned for the following chapters. :)

My apologies it took so damn long :(

Thank you for everyone who's been reading so far! And an extra big thank you to everyone who reviewed! You really make my day every time :)

Please let me know what you think!

See you soon!

Rumple x