(A/N: This chapter has a lot of violence. Just a heads up.)
The day was bright and the sun was high in the air, warming the kingdom of Aethiopia. Everything seemed to be brighter: the greens of the leaves, the blues of the sky, the teals of the ocean and the air was clear and fresh.
The princess of Aethiopia paced back and forth in her bedroom, fiddling with her fingers. A white beautiful white gown was draped over her body; the neckline scooped just above her breasts, the sleeves came to her wrists and the skirt of the dress was tied to both of her middle fingers. Her curls were styled in a chignon with random tendrils left out around her head, and a golden crown that looked like woven branches was placed on her head, attached to the crown was a long veil. White, decorative slippers were on her feet and her nails were cut and shined. Her face was glowing as always, even though the expression she wore was closer to anxious than jubilant.
Her footsteps echoed as she paced, speaking her vows under her breath over and over again, and her breath was heavy. She was a bundle of nerves and she did not know what to expect. She had never been married after all, and she was afraid she would trip, or forget her vows or worse.
Was it too late for her to run?
A knock sounded at her door and it was a guard that was sent to retrieve her for the ceremony. She was escorted through the halls and to a chariot that was decorated for the occasion, with bows, ribbons, and gold. The chariot was empty, Andromeda had it all to herself, and it was open, so the citizens could see her.
As the chariot slowly began along the trail to the wedding, Aethiopians gathered around it, cheering. Andromeda sat up straighter and waved regally, a smile on her face. She did all of the 'princess' things on the way to the wedding, despite her nerves: she blew kisses, she kissed babies, and accepted flowers.
When the chariot pulled up to the ceremony, soft music started to play and her father stood before her, helping her out of the carriage. He offered her his arm and she took it, escorting her down the aisle.
The wedding setting was beautiful and it appeared everyone from kingdoms over had arrived to attend. The ceremony was placed on the coast of the Atlantic, the water creating a scenic backdrop for the wedding. The wedding arch was placed with the back of it to the water and was wrapped in green vines and gardenias. A white sheet was placed along the aisle and at the end of it stood Perseus.
All eyes were on her as she slowly made her way down the aisle, but the only eyes she cared about were hazel and shining. Time seemed to slow down around her and the noise was silenced as she approached the wedding arch.
Andromeda stood in front of her beloved and her father let go of her hand, pecking her on the cheek and standing in the middle of the two lovers. The guest sat in their seats and the ceremony began.
Andromeda and Perseus placed their hands in on each others and King Cepheus placed his hands over theirs, beginning to recite the ceremonious words.
"Citizens of Aethiopia and guests of other kingdoms, we are gathered here today to wed my only daughter, Princess Andromeda, and the warrior that saved our kingdom, Sir Perseus the Strong…"
It seemed as if as soon as Andromeda was in front of Perseus, all of her doubts disappeared and she was jubilant once again. As her father droned on and on, Andromeda let her gaze wander to the crowd, where she saw her mother sitting proudly, her face glowing with pride. She saw Cosima and Ares sitting together, the bump of a forming babe in the albino woman's stomach. She also saw Iola and Nikola sitting with Andres in his father's lap. They all looked so beautiful and bright, and Andromeda wanted to picture them like this forever. All happy, all proud to see her.
She turned back to Perseus and he gave her a small smile, knowing how she sometimes got carried away in her own mind. Andromeda smiled back and bit her lip as Perseus started to recite his vows. In what seemed like a quick moment, it was Andromeda's turn. As soon as she opened her mouth, clouds started to appear overhead, blocking the sun.
The princess paid it no mind, "I promise to love and honor…" She paused as the cloud started to light up with lightening. Andromeda quickly finished her vows, fearing that rain would start falling at any minute. She looked to her father and the king pursed his lips, getting to the last part of the ceremony.
"If any of you have any reasons why these two should not be married," King Cepheus' voice echoed, "Speak now or forever hold your peace."
A boom of thunder clapped right after the king spoke, causing nervous chatter to resonate through the guests. King Cepheus opened his mouth to continue the ceremony but thunder clapped again and the water started to ripple, waves starting to crash violently against the coastline. Suddenly, from out the water, a tall, tanned, bearded man with curly brown hair arose. His seafoam green eyes were alit with fiery rage and he pointed his finger at Andromeda. Perseus stood in front of the princess protectively.
"Cepheus, Cassiopeia!" The God's voiced boomed as loud as the thunder he was causing, "How rude of you not to invite me to your daughter's wedding."
"Lord Poseidon," Queen Cassiopeia's voice shook as she stood from her seat and walked over to her daughter, "We apologize for-!"
"Silence!" Poseidon glared at the mortal, a wave bringing him up to the coast. The royal family backed away, frightened of the God. Some of the people in the crowd made a move to leave but the God's glare turned on them, "Sit. Down!" His large footsteps made the ground shake as he walked up to Andromeda, taking her chin in his hands and examining her face. "Well, well, well. You are a pretty one, aren't you?"
"T-t-thank you." The princess whispered shakily, "W-w-what do we owe the pleasure of your presence, my lord?"
"Oh?" Poseidon raised a thick brow before throwing his head back in a laugh. He let go of her face and smirked, "That is right. You poor child, you do not remember."
The princess furrowed her brows and racked her mind for an answer, but one did not come. She looked to her shaking mother but she avoided her eyes, so she looked to her father, though he looked as guilty as her mother.
"I am willing to refresh the memory, child of Aethiopia." Poseidon grinned wickedly, holding his hand out. His triton materialized in his hand from a wave of water and he circled around the family, his eyes amused. "Your mother disrespected me with a compliment towards you. As you know disrespect is not tolerated in any form against the Gods. Because of your mother's insolence I asked that you be sacrificed, a fair trade. Though you seemed to have disappeared when the day came for me to have you…" The God looked back at Cassiopeia pointedly and the queen lowered her eyes, her husband wrapping his arm around her protectively. Poseidon chuckled, "Well all that is left in this mystery is where you went… Where did you send your daughter, Cassiopeia?"
The queen swallowed thickly and raised her eyes to meet the God's brazingly. "I will never tell."
"Oh?" Poseidon raised a thick brow, a cruel smile on his face. "Really?"
"No." Cassiopeia leveled, her eyes glaring disrespectfully.
"Your lord commands you, Cassiopeia." Poseidon's voice boomed and thunder followed after it, "Where was she?"
"Leave her, my lord!" Perseus defended his love's mother, his hazel eyes steady. "Please take your aggression out on me. I will take the brunt of your anger, not my wife and her family."
Poseidon's eyes fell on the warrior and he turned towards him, his triton standing tall. "She is not your wife yet." The God glowered over the warrior, his eyes narrowed. "You are the one who slayed my beast."
"Aye, my lord." Perseus nodded, his voice even. Andromeda cowered behind him and he spared her a comforting glance before turning back to the God.
Poseidon smirked, "Such power in one so small, but still so foolish." The God's hand tightened around his triton. "But very well, if you want to save your precious 'wife'," The burly man didn't even finish his sentence as he impaled the warrior with his triton, twisting the weapon and pulling it out.
Andromeda let out a cry as his blood splashed on her white gown. Perseus fell back against her and she fell to the ground, cupping his face in her hands. His mouth sputtered out blood as he tried to speak his last words, but Andromeda shushed him, trying to wipe the blood from his face. "It is alright, you are fine. I love you." She muttered, trying to comfort him in his final moments. Perseus smiled up at her and caressed her cheek, paying no mind to the blood that he wiped on her. With one final breath his eyes dimmed over and his smile fell.
A loud chuckle sounded from above Andromeda and she looked up, her eyes glazing over with tears. "Why?" She croaked out, her face stained with blood.
Poseidon looked down at the girl with a smirk, "You owe me a debt and it will be repaid with the blood of the people you love." Thunder clapped after the statement and lightning sliced through the air. Rain and lumps of hail started to fall from the sky and the crowd screamed, running wild in panic.
Andromeda could only watch as people were bludgeoned by hail and struck by lightning. She felt as if she couldn't move, as if all of the screams around her were silenced and she was in a dream. All she could do was sit there with Perseus' body in her lap and watch.
Cosima's leg was bleeding and she was weeping over Ares mangled body. Iola and Nikola were shielding Andres from the hail, tears trailing down their faces. People were getting struck by lightning and the waves from the coastline were beginning to splash onto the land, claiming people for the sea.
Andromeda desperately tried to remember the events that led up to this, but she couldn't and it made her sob. It was like her mind was blank and something was blocking her from seeing it. She clawed at her scalp and tried to force herself into recognizance but it wouldn't work.
Death and destruction was all around her and she could not even fathom it. She raised her shaky bloody hands to her face and swallowed thickly, looking up when her mother ran to her. She looked at her mother in a daze, "Andromeda your father is dead!" Queen Cassiopeia sobbed, her pretty face twisted in a painful grimace, "He was struck by lightening but we have to-!" Blood splashed on Andromeda's face once again and she blinked in shock as the light left her mother's eyes and her body fell on her.
Andromeda's stomach lurched and she swallowed down the bile in her throat, pushing her mother's body away from her and shakily standing up. She looked down at herself and furrowed her brows at the blood, from what she could remember she had not gotten hurt. She looked up at the sky and around her body in confusion; all of the lightning and hail was not even close to hitting her, it seemed to be raining over everyone else.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed in the sky and trailed all the way to the ground. Andromeda put a hand over her eyes and looked up at the sky in wonder, scared of whatever was coming next. As the light started to fade away, the sound around her seemed to turn itself on and the princess could hear the agonizing screams of her people.
Andromeda's head whipped around and she finally saw the build up of bodies. It hit her all at once. The people she loved, the people who came to her wedding were dying; because of her.
A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped away from the touch, her head snapping to direction of the hand. Time stood still. It was a man with the greenest eyes she had ever seen. They seemed familiar somehow, but she could not place them. The man's skin was pale, the palest she had ever seen, and it was smooth like marble. His hair was inky, black and a texture she had only seen on the Greeks, not anyone in Aethiopia. Was he a visiting noble attending her wedding? He sure dressed like one with his green and black clothing lined in gold. He had an aristocratic, straight nose and thin lips, thinner than she'd ever seen. The man was beautiful.
"Who are you?" Andromeda whispered, and she could have sworn she saw him flinch, though his face stayed stoic. The sounds around her muted themselves once more as he spoke.
"Come with me." The unnamed man muttered, offering his hand to her.
The princess bit her lip and shook her head, looking back to the people suffering because of her. "I...I cannot leave. This is all because of me."
Fingertips were pressed to her cheek and her head was turned toward the stranger once more, "Come with me." He repeated lowly.
Andromeda swallowed and searched his eyes, trying to recall where she's seen them before. "Where?" She asked instead of refusing outright. Something about the man was trustworthy.
"To Asgard." He answered her without hesitation.
Andromeda furrowed her brows, "Where is that?"
The man's face broke into a smirk and he glanced above them, Andromeda following his line of sight. "The sky."
Andromeda's eye twitched and she her hand shot to her forehead. Why was this so familiar? She had done this before… Her thoughts were interrupted when the waves of the coast grew larger and larger, sweeping screaming people up.
"We have to go now, Andromeda." The man breathed her name and her headache increased at the utter. Without a reply, the man wrapped his arm around her waist and she placed a hand on his chest in shock as light flooded around them.
"Wait!" She yelled, her eyes searching the ground below them, "No!" The hold on her waist grew tighter and she buried her head in his chest, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Lips pressed against her forehead and her world went dark, her body going limp.
Loki picked Andromeda up like a bride, gingerly cradling her to his chest. He had whispered a charm to make her sleep, for all of the memories would be too much to take if she were awake. When he arrived in Asgard, he nodded to Heimdall and placed Andromeda on the back of Sleipnir, the horse looking at the beauty with sad eyes.
"It will be alright." The father muttered to his son, petting his mane before mounting him. The horse galloped all the way to the palace without stopping, scared for it's 'mother'. They arrived to the palace and Loki took Andromeda in his arms, walking into his home.
"How is she?" Thor's voice boomed and the sorcerer shushed him with a glare.
"She will be fine if you do not wake her." Loki whispered viciously, carrying her down the hallway.
His older brother followed him, not easing on his interrogation. "Why is she covered in blood?" He asked, his voice quieter.
"It is not hers." Is all Loki said in reply.
"Shouldn't you take her to the infirmary?" Thor inquired as Loki opened the door to her old room. The brothers had spent many nights there after she had left, though neither of them had told the other.
Loki laid Andromeda down gingerly, placing a pillow under her head. His hand caressed her cheek softly, "I would rather her wake up in familiar surroundings than around strangers."
"Ah, but when she wakes up…" Thor trailed off, stroking his beard.
"Yes, she will remember." Loki answered, clearing his throat. "Let us go now; she needs her rest."
Thor nodded and they both left the room, closing the door behind themselves quietly.