Sorry it's taken so long. I've been super busy.
I hope you enjoy the story!
Ran sat at the top left spot of the banquet table, gazing out at all the guests her father had invited. Several Princes, Dukes, and other various higher ups chatted with each other, laughing and ripping apart their food as if they were waging war with it. It was not unusual for her father to entertain many people such as these from time to time, but the sheer number of them overwhelmed her, shocking her senses. Her food remained mostly untouched with her thin arms on either side of her plate. Once or twice her brother shot her a look that meant she was to socialize or eat, which she begrudgingly complied to.
"Princess Ran, have you ever travelled to the Westlands?"
"Do you enjoy horseback riding? We have fleets of horses at our palace, I must show you sometime." Ran's shallow answers seemed to appease the men as they smiled and returned to their dinner plates.
After an hour of meaningless conversation and pleasantries, Odin gazed over at Ran.
"Daughter," her father's deep voice called her out of a conversation about the weather with a balding prince that occupied the seat next to hers. "It is time."
He smiled sadly at her and covered her hand with his before standing to his feet and lifting his goblet into the air. The entire room fell silent as the Odin cleared his throat."Esteemed guest, you all have been selected to join us at the palace so that my daughter may choose among you he who she wants to marry."
All of the breath inside of Ran's lungs evacuated her body at the same time. Her head snapped over to the length of the table, seeing all of the devious smiles and concentrating frowns of the men, most of which were looking back at her. Her entire body went numb as she looked back down at her food. The rest of Odin's speech turned to high-pitched ringing in her ears and then faded out into complete silence as she listened to the sound of her heart crumbling in her chest. Thor jerked his head up, a concerned look on his face as if he could hear it as well.
She could feel a white hot rage radiating from the far corner of the room, so intense that she feared it would burn her skin and anyone close to it would surely perish. She looked up, looking for the source of the emotion, only to see Loki standing in the shadow of the corner, half behind a tapestry and half exposed, a scowl plastered on his fair face. Her withering lungs forced her to breathe in surprise as she blinked, but when she opened her eyes, he was gone.
"Do you know why I am doing this, Ran?" Odin looked down at his daughter as she sat in his and Frigga's chambers on the side of their bed. Ran gripped the sheets of the bed.
"You are punishing me?" she asked angrily, her head falling to the side as she looked up at her father. A deep sigh came from him as his fingers squeezed the bridge of his nose.
"I am doing this for your own good, girl."
Her own good? Rage pushed Ran up to her feet and held her arms firmly by her side."You are just trying to rid yourself of me! Just as you did with Loki!" her scream echoed throughout the chamber.
Odin's eyes lit up with rage as he neared her, towering over her. His hands grabbed her flexing arms so tightly, they changed her skin color from pale white to bright red. Frigga quickly rose from her seat on the opposite side of the room.
"Odin, please!"
"It is time for you to learn your place, Ran." his voice raised with every word as he ignored his wife's plea, "It is time to grow up!"
Tears of anger fell from the young Asgardian's eyes as she struggled out of her father's grasp and ran from the room. Her fists gathered up the her gown, making sure her sandals didn't catch the fabric. As she sprinted down the corridor, she could faintly hear Thor's voice calling her, but she didn't stop running until she approached her door, slamming it behind her.
"I told you, Ran." hot breath swept over her neck as the voice of her twin whispered into her ear, "They will never be like you or I."
Ran confined herself to the garden that bloomed on the balcony of her chambers. Roses with rich crimson petals reached out to her as she sat among them on a golden bench. One brushed her shoulder, causing her to turn and face it, breathing in it's fresh aroma. Memories of the day Thor helped her plant the bush as a child flooded her with happiness and grief.
"You promised to guard me, brother. Now where are you?" she whispered, telling her secrets to all the flowers as if Thor's presents still hung with them.
"I am still here. Do you not desire me?" a voice called from behind the sheer curtains that separated her balcony from her sleeping chamber. A short chuckled escaped her lips as she continued to bury her face in the large flower.
"Of course I desire you, Fandral, but we should hurry before Loki comes."
At that moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder, jerking her around to face her brother who seemed less than amused. Laughing lightly, she stood, placing her hands on his shoulders and smiling up at him. Her smile, however, faded as she noticed his eyes were slightly red from tears and his face was twisted into a deep frown. A feeling of deep guilt washed over her.
"I was only joking."
Loki gritted his teeth, looking at her helplessly. "The Allfather has gone into Odinsleep."
Her hands immediately flew from his shoulders. Quickly, she sidestepped him, making her way toward the door, only to be yanked back to face her brother, whose hand clasped the crook of her arm tightly.
"Loki! Let me go. I must see Odin!" she fought, trying to twist his fingers from the leather of her armor, but not succeeding. He stood, looking at her with a piteous expression, his hair disheveled and skin slightly paler than normal.
"Ran." He said, pulling her back to him and grabbing her other arm with his free hand. "There is something I need to tell you."
Ran continued to struggle away from him. "Can it not wait, Loki? Father is-"
"He is not our father." Loki growled at her, his grip tightening on her arms as he pulled her close to his chest. "He and Frigga have been lying to… us for our entire lives."
Instantly, Ran stopped struggling and looked up at her brother with an unbelieving expression which turned to anger with the passing seconds.
"That is not funny."
"My thoughts exactly."
The two stared at each other for a moment before Loki's face cracked into a wicked smile. Forcefully, he pushed her onto her bed and paced back and forth in front of her as a teach would a disobedient classroom.
"Do you know what Odin found after his battle at Jotunheim? Hmm?" Loki pressed, not giving her time to remark before answering his own question. "Two babies. Two Jotun babies. He planned to use them as pawns to unite the two realms if necessary." Loki stopped in front of her, his hands planted on either side of her body. "He brought them to Asgard, training them, lying to them."
Ran could not help but chuckle at her brother in disbelief. She reclined on her bed, her hands supporting her weight. "Fine, brother. Where are these babies? Why have I never seen them?" Loki stopped his pacing and stared at her, slack-jawed as if to say 'Could you really be this stupid?'
In one motion, he pulled her from the bed and dragged her into her bathing chamber, standing in front of the full length mirror that graced the west wall. "Why not look for yourself?"
As Ran gazed into the mirror, she could hardly believe what she was witnessing. Her skin, starting from her head and moving downward, darkened to an icy shade of blue, as well as Loki that stood behind her. Markings raised up on forehead and cheeks that matched his, as her eyes grew to a deep crimson. She felt her knees buckle beneath her before she dropped to the cold, tiled floor. Her stomach lurched forward, as if expelling her breakfast would take away the newfound pain she had been exposed to. Not wanting to see anymore, she pulled her knees to her chest and turned her back to the accusatory mirror, her skin fading back to it's normal color.
Loki crouched down, pulling her head into his chest as she quietly cried. His arms slipped under her knees and around her back as he picked her up, carrying her to the bed that she had been freshly pulled from and laying her on top of the silky, blue sheets. Her hand reached for him, pulling him onto the bed as well. He crawled up next to her, cradling her body into his.
A few minutes passed as the two lay in each other's arms. Ran's fingers stroked the dark leather that covered Loki's chest. Her entire reality was shattered. Her brother was gone forever. Her father was dying. Now, she was not even related to either of them. Everyone, she decided, was meant to fail her. Everyone, that was, except for Loki.
"So, it is really just you and I?" she asked without expecting an answer. She felt Loki's upper body rise and fall with a deep sigh.
"Has it not always?" He replied, his fingers tangling themselves in her thick hair. Ran closed her eyes, enjoying the closeness of the last person she thought she could rely on, until a deep rumble of laughter interrupted her peace. She lifted her head to see Loki's face broken out into a smile and laughter, now unbridled, erupting from him.
"What is it, brother?" she asked, only to be flipped over onto her back with him on top of her, his face hovering above hers with his forearms supporting him on either side of her head.
"I," he smiled darkly, "Have a spectacular idea, my beautiful sister."
Leaning down to her, his lips brushed her exposed collar bone before traveling up to her neck and waging an attack. Ran's right leg bent slightly, letting her bare foot curl into the sheets, and her hands fell upon his neck, urging him for more, her sense of right and wrong skewed by the lust that radiated from him.
"Think of it." Loki's muffled voice called out to her between assaults, "Thor is gone. The Allfather is as good as dead. And two Jotuns remain to take the throne." He lifted his head, his face carved into a wicked smile. "Think of the fun."
Ran looked back into his eyes. The emotion that emanated from them was so powerful that it frightened her. The alarm that welled up inside of her, she tried to push down.
Loki stared at her, a treacherous glint in his grin. Was she really willing to throw away her loyalty to Odin? To Thor? Was Loki the only person she could truly trust? Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard, before using her might to push Loki onto his back, switching their positions. She returned his dark smile.
"Where do we begin?"
The warm bathwater glided over Loki's skin as he made small waves with his hand. His back pressed against the back of the golden bathtub that sat in the center of his bathing chamber. Complete darkness monopolized the room before he clicked his fingers, igniting small flames on the wicks of the candles that surrounded the tub.
Folding his hands under his chin, he propped his elbow on the sides of the now warm metal tub. Flashes of Ran's face, stricken with grief and terror invaded his mind. He shook his head, trying to erase the thoughts, but still they remained. Why should she be the true child of Odin and not him? Why did he always have to be alone; below everyone else? Sighing deeply, he resigned to do the only thing he had ever done; enjoy the power of manipulation.
In lying to her, he completely disrupted the order of her life, turning it upside down with the mere strength of his words and beginner's magic. He had her under his command, ready to jump at his whim. Suddenly a dark pleasure ran through him, sending a shiver all the way down his body.
He was going to bleed the innocence out of her, as one would bleed a pig after slitting its' throat. His fingerprints would be on her as he molded her into something of his creation. The God of Mischief, bent on destroying and mayhem, was creating someone else that shared his desire; ripping her original self away and replacing it with something new.
"Oh my." he smiled to himself, leaning his head back and resting it on the tub, "I am going to enjoy this."
Please comment and tell me what you like about, don't like about it, whatever. If you loved it, I'm so excited that you enjoyed it!
Thank you for your patience!