Ruins.
Loki stared at the empty hall, now deserted and devoid of people. There was ash strewn all over the floor and broken bits of glass, the streams and banners that had been put up were torn down, burnt at the seams and slowly flapping in the breeze from the open doors. People had left in a panic, running over each other to escape the foreign beings that had crashed the ceremony. There was still the faint smell of smoke in the air, and Loki curled his nose in distaste. His shoes stood over small shards of crushed glass and burnt pieces of lace, presumably from Takumi's dress.
His fiancee's..
He slowly bent down and picked it up, gazing at the stiff piece of lace that had once been spotless. Everything in that room had once been spotless and pure, and now it looked like a battlefield that their grandfather's would've been proud of. The doors were slowly swinging open in the breeze, hitting against the pillars outside.
Had everyone really run away? Save for the guards, no one had stayed behind to see if the Asgardian family made it out unscathed. Loki's skin prickled in irritation. No, of course they hadn't stayed behind. They relied on Thor to save them.
And Thor hadn't done a thing but stood there staring like a stunned fool, his eyes wide with shock rather than fear. And Loki... well, he stood staring with both shock. He recalled the small prickle of fear that came about on the back of his neck.
Loki shook his head and dropped the piece of lace, watching it flutter to the ground like a feather. Pathetic. He curled his lip at it as it drifted downwards, settling stiffly on broken glass.
"This has turned out worse than we thought, hadn't it?"
Loki chuckled quietly, shaking his head and keeping his eyes on the burnt chairs ahead of him. He didn't answer for a moment; there was nothing to say. He hadn't wanted to get married in the first place. Thinking that he could escape from the marriage by abusing his to-be, he was so sure that she would eventually run away herself, breaking the tradition and leaving him free to do what he wished. But this... This was nothing he wished on anyone. Takumi represented everything that pained him.
How could he just sit by and laugh at her misery, when he had gone through something so utterly, hilariously, similar?
"Indeed," Loki finally answered, turning around and addressing Thor. "So much ruin for a night that is beautiful in nature. Where is the beauty in war, brother? Do you still court for battle?"
Thor gave him a hard stare, his features tensing into a line. There was those familiar storm clouds in those eyes. "In my youth I courted war. And so did you, Loki. We have learned much from those, and paid the price from such. Jotun life or no, all life is important, and we must treat it as such."
"No one died here tonight." Loki scoffed, turning to gaze at the empty room. He gestured to the burnt and scattered chairs behind them, the blowing torn banner in the breeze and the glass shards littering the floor. The pitiful party that that had turned misery. "The only thing hurt tonight has been Odin's pride."
There was a soft silence from Thor. He stared at Loki, darkness settling on his features and his hand tightening on Mjolnr's leather strap. Loki watched as Thor slowly stepped towards him, the sounds of ash and broken glass crunching underneath his boots. "Do not make light of this situation." Thor warned softly. "Asgard is on the brink of war with a people whom we know nothing about. Odin's pride may be hurt, but that is the least of our problems. People's livelihoods are at stake."
A flash of irritation surged through Loki. He glared at Thor and then smirked, a forced snicker coming from his lips. "Do you think I am not aware? We know nothing of the Muspelhiem people, not one bit. They could have easily evolved, just a Midgardians have on Earth. You saw how much humans had changed the last time you had gone there. They had been scavengers in the dirt and dust, trembling over us like gods, and now they barely look at us without much of a tremble. With such weak people already so powerful, the Muspelhiem people's vengeance will be stronger."
"Midgardians are different, Loki." Thor looked stung at that, but his hand moved away from Mjolnr. "They are much weaker than the rest of the realms. Their survival counted on their evolution."
Loki cocked his head with a smile, but it had lost it's genuinity. "What makes you think the rest of the realms are off limits? We should've known that Odin nor his father could have killed an entire race correctly."
Thor's face was contorted with anger now. "Enough, Loki! It matters not. Takumi is a child of the Fire people, and raised in Vanaheim as a political pawn. We must be concerned for her safety."
"And not for mine?" Loki shot back, almost without hesitation. "Where was your sympathy when I was tossed aside as a Frost Giant? When I was given the throne because you had-"
"ENOUGH!" Thor grabbed Loki by the shoulders and swiftly shook him twice, rattling him into keeping quiet. Loki's teeth chattered against one another violently from the shake, and he grit his teeth. "Stop this, brother! I mourned for you after you fell, and I mourned for you while you sat in the prisons, and I grieved the absence of my brother for many moons. Do not start this, not now. This is not about you. Not anymore."
Loki wrenched himself away from Thor and straightened himself, keeping notice of his aching teeth. "Why are you here, Thor? To laugh at me for the misfortune of getting Takumi as my wife? Or to complain about your own misfortunes about having Kaisa as yours?"
Thor winced, this time rubbing his neck with his hand. The comment had struck home. "I must speak to Kaisa when she has calmed. I must admit she is much more different than I thought she was. She is..."
"Cruel." Loki offered. "Heartless. Nothing less of a mewling quim who seeks attention-"
"Stop it, Loki." Thor sounded defeated now, as though he didn't have the energy to continue arguing with him. "But I agree, she has been cruel to Takumi's.. situation. I thought that she would be more sympathetic to her sister, but I was wrong. This will not be easy, keeping her out of sight from the Muspelheim people."
Loki crossed his arms and shook his head. He was getting weary of Thor speaking of her as though she was some sort of precious fragile flower. The woman had attacked him on multiple occasions, killed three Frost Giants, and attempted to fight the Aesir as they dragged her down the halls of the palace. She was anything but a precious jewel. "She can be a valuable ally if we allow her to be. Shielding her will only make her want to fight against Asgard all the more."
"She can do what she wishes. If she wants to aid us, then she can." Thor gave him a crooked smile, the first look of his old self in hours. "I have no doubt that Sif could help her with battle techniques. The two of them will be close, I think."
"That's exactly what we need: for Sif to have a playmate on the battlefield." Loki said, but his tone was a bit warmer. Although he was joking, he couldn't help but think about Sif and her cocky attitude, showing Takumi all of her weapons like an excited child with her toys and thrusting them into her hands, pushing her for a spar. Sif loved her spars. Especially when she won.
Thor gave him another smile and patted him on the shoulder, marginally gentler than how he had shaken Loki before. "I must go tend to Kaisa and speak with her on this matter. The guards are on high alert for the night, but I best believe we will be fine. Call for me if need be."
"I do not need your help." Loki rolled his eyes and turned away from him once more, eyeing the destroyed palace hall. It would take a long time before the hall was rebuilt and turned back into it's former glory. "Go. Talk to your beast. I doubt that she will give you an easy time."
There was a long silence, and then the sound of Thor walking away, his boots crunching into ground ashes and shattered glass. The doors swung heavily closed, scraping against the rubble on the floor. Loki was now alone with his thoughts, the utter silence pounding into him like a sledgehammer and making his thoughts ring angrily through his head like wasps.
Kaisa had flung herself to the bed, sobbing violently. She had thrown off her wedding veil in vain, as well as her perfect shoes and the bouquet she had been holding before all the chaos. It didn't matter now anyway, the beautiful flowers were now charred and dead in their little sleeve, the petals burnt to a crisp and powdered with black ashes. Now it lay in the fireplace, burning away, where it belonged. Just like her dreams, tossed aside and left to rot. All because of her damned little sister.
How could Takumi be so selfish? It was Kaisa's night! It was the night that she had dreamt of ever since they were little girls and still slept together in the same chambers, because they weren't old enough to be on their own. She had rattled off all her ideas of a perfect wedding to Takumi, but of course, the little brat was never interested. She always wanted to play with her dolls, or draw in her books, or read about witches. She never did anything like a true Princess!
Kaisa let out another gut-wrenching sob into her pillow, knowing that her makeup was being horribly smudged into the satin plush pillows, her mascara slowly trailing down her face as she cried into the bed.
Her life was a travesty. What would her friends back home think? Oh, they would be laughing at her luck, sneering at her with scorn. Her beloved Prince Thor turned out not to be a man of war, but more of a pathetic weak peace-bringer. The myths about him fighting on the battlefield were all old stories of his youth, when he loved and courted war as though they were lovers. And his brother, Loki...? Pah, the black-haired man was even worse. He lived up to his expectations, and even more so. With a sharp tongue and mischievous eyes, Loki was surely the pinpoint of all his rumors.
How was this fair? Kaisa deserved to be royalty, not to have her wedding day smudged by an inferior race.
She let out a choked sob and turned over, staring up at the ceiling and closing her eyes. There was still the faint scent of smoke on her clothing, and on her wedding dress that was now ruined. In her inner eye, she could see the fiery beings that interrupted the ceremony, crashing through the palace doors as though they were paper. They were terrifying to look at, and most grotesque. Flames licked their skin, crawling over their faces and arms and legs. They didn't appear to be wearing any sort of clothing, and she could barely distinguish a face among all the fire. Eyes that looked like black charcoal and a mouth that licked open, breathing hot air and poison.
And when they touched Takumi, she changed too. Kaisa had watched in horror and disgust as Takumi changed from her normal peach-skinned self to a monster, her skin changing into fire. Her hair lifted off her shoulders and bubbled into the air, looking like smoke as it circled above her. Takumi had let out a scream, a familiar sounding noise that ripped from an unfamiliar face, bright orange taking over her entire being. She was one of them, and there was no denying it then.
Her sister wasn't truly her sister. She was a stranger. Takumi was an intruder. A foreign being. A monster.
Kaisa knew there was a reason why her father always favored her over Takumi. At last, she knew the real reason. She now knew the true reason why Takumi didn't possess The Gift like she had, or her mother had. The Gift hadn't skipped over Takumi at all; the girl just wasn't over Vanir blood and didn't see her worthy of it. That was the reason why Takumi could control the elements so well, and why she always hated the cold so bitterly. Every mystery that had ever circled around Takumi was now finally answered, and now Kaisa knew why.
Disgusting heathen. How dare her father let such a creature sleep next to her all those years? How dare he?!
Kaisa gasped and shook as another sob took over her, streaming down her face and sliding off her cheeks onto the sheets. Her life was over! At this rate she'd never be queen. She'd never be married to Thor, or anyone else, and she would live the rest of her life alone. Childless. Alone.
She hated Takumi. The girl's selfishness always got in the way. And Kaisa always took it with grace and dignity, because that was the duty of the eldest sibling. But she didn't have to be like that anymore. She was freed of the responsibility of looking over Takumi like a child. The girl didn't deserve her respect, especially now that she was nothing but a failed rescue. Takumi was meant to be dead!
A knock at the door disturbed her thoughts. She rolled into the pillow and buried her face. "Leave. I am not in the mood for company."
The door opened anyway. A pleading, quiet voice came through the small sliver of cracked space. "Kaisa..." Thor's tone sounded like one of a scolding parent.
"Leave, Thor." Kaisa was firm this time. She sat up, and scowled at him. No doubt she looked atrocious in her streaked makeup and wedding dress. "Allow me to grieve and mourn."
"Grieve what, Lady Kaisa?" Thor slowly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Takumi is alive and well. Twas no death in the halls tonight."
"I am not mourning a death. I am mourning of the life that I had wasted because of the miserable mistake my Father made, by adopting that little disaster of a girl into our home!" Kaisa scowled, keeping her voice down the best she could. There was no dismissing the bitterness in her tone, and she wished that she could hide it. But there was no point, there was simply too much for her to keep in. "She might as well be dead, she was meant to die from the start..."
Thor looked appalled, and... did he dare look disgusted? "By the Norns, Kaisa. This is your sister. Your sibling. You had spent your entire livelihoods together as a family. Does that mean nothing to you?"
"It means that my Father made an idiotic mistake in diplomacy!" Kaisa grit her teeth. "For whatever reason, saving a dying girl from an already dying race of people.."
"It may be as simple as the fact he couldn't let an innocent child die." Thor said sharply, and Kaisa was taken aback by his voice. This was the second time he had spoken to her so sharply, and she didn't appreciate that. It was even more distasteful that both times were about Takumi. "That's what my Father had done with Loki. An innocent infant doesn't deserve death, no matter of what the race itself had done. You should take pride in that sacrifice."
Kaisa almost laughed. No, there was no sacrifice here. It was all a ploy. It had to be. Her Father wouldn't just save someone. Especially not someone from Muspelheim. Didn't her father tell war stories about how he cut off all their heads in the rage of battle, and his servants throwing the bodies into an ice cold lake deep in the trenches of Muspelheim?
"You would know nothing of the sort." Kaisa hissed. "The Brave and Mighty Thor! You are a lie. And your brother is nothing but a misfit creature as well! Fit to die in the ice and snow of Jotunheim."
"You keep quiet about Loki." Thor's voice rose in volume for a moment before crashing down into an intense whisper. Dark storm clouds seemed to gather in those beautiful blue eyes, turning them dark grey. For a second, Kaisa felt true fear crawl up her spine. Thor looked as though he was about to throttle her, his hands clenched at his sides. "He is still my brother, no matter the circumstances. You have no right to speak of him in such a way."
She scoffed, turning away from him. It was useless to argue with him. He would never understand. Her dreams of being a true Princess and completing her mother's work would never be achieved now. Life was nothing but cruel to her. Thor didn't understand. And he seemed like he would. It was deceiving. The Norns just loved to tease her, didn't they? To make her think that everything would be okay, only to yank the carpet from underneath her.
"War is brimming on the horizon." Thor spoke after a long, silent minute. His voice had calmed now, and it was dull. Empty. "The Muspelheim people have waged war against all of the Nine Realms. Jotunheim and the others had spotted the signs all too soon, and Asgard is too late to do the same. Takumi will be our only ally from Muspelhiem, if at all. We cannot afford to lose the only chance we have, is that understood?"
Kaisa let out a laugh, forced through her teeth. "And what does that mean? I cannot disown her as my family?"
There was another silence. "No. It means that you treat her with respect, as she's from another realm. Or you will suffer the consequences of breaking Asgardian tradition."
"You wouldn't dare threaten me-" Kaisa turned, and came face to face with a stony Thor, his lips drawn tightly.
"You are of Asgard now, and you are to follow our rules." It was a threat, a quiet soft one, but filled with promise. "I will see to it personally if you break them."
Kaisa was left speechless, standing there with her mouth gaping open like an idiot. For once, she felt utterly powerless. She had always felt like she had some kind of authority, over someone, over almost everyone. But now she was beneath someone. Thor stared at her with empty eyes before turning and leaving the room, without another kind word. The door closed just as quietly, as though no emotional outburst had happened.
She sunk onto the bed, stunned.
Was this some sort of joke? What kind of realm was this, where she was treated with such disrespect?
Her fists clenched angrily. Oh, she would treat Takumi with respect. Diplomatic respect, and that would be all. They weren't sisters, and they weren't family. They never were.
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