The following day, Odin came to the healing rooms early to speak with Aislinn;
"Aislinn, dear child, how do you fare?"
"Everything is new here. Mother told me stories about the great palace in the heart of Asgard, but she could not make me understand how many people would be here, or how large everything would be."
"You must not be very comfortable here. It is busy, and people are always coming and going. I have prepared a room for you, if you feel ready to leave the healing rooms."
"Where am I to live, my king?" Aislinn asked, looking suddenly intimidated.
"You will live here, in the palace." Odin shifted in place, and then sat down in a nearby chair. "I understand that you are a young woman, Aislinn, and that you may not be looking for a family. I also know that I cannot replace what you have lost…." Odin trailed off for a moment, before recollecting himself. "But, I want to take care of you, if you will let me. I never had a daughter, and I would welcome you into my family. I loved your mother very much, and owe her this and more."
Aislinn flushed, humbled. "It would be my honor, Allfather."
Odin patted her hand affectionately, and led her out into the palace. Aislinn was overcome with the size and beauty of the Asgardian palace. It was immense beyond her wildest imaginings. Odin did not take her on a tour of its many rooms, but instead led her directly up many flights of stairs. At length, they arrived at the wing that housed the royal chambers. She was amazed the number of guards, posted at regular intervals all along the palace halls.
"Up those few stairs and through those double doors are the chambers belonging to myself and my Frigga," Odin explained, pointing at the far end of the hall. He turned and gestured to great golden door directly behind them. "These chambers belong to my eldest son, Thor."
"And that door?" Aislinn gestured at a door further down the hallway. While just as grand as the door to Thor's chamber, this one was silver, and had strange runes carved into it.
Odin's face clouded a little bit as he explained those were the chambers of his younger son.
They continued down the hallway for a time, passing Loki's rooms, before coming to another massive golden door. "This is the room that would have belonged to a third royal child" Odin said, "If Frigga and I had ever borne more children. It will be yours now, if you will have it."
The guard posted nearby opened the enormous door for his king, and Aislinn gasped at the size of the rooms within. The first space was wide and open, with an ornate fire pit sunk into the floor, surrounded by comfortable sofas. One side of the room opened to the air, turning into a large beautiful balcony overlooking the sea. Gauzy curtains wafted lazily between the breathtaking view and the inside of the room. On the far side, another door opened into her sleeping chamber. It was much darker, with only two windows looking outside. A massive four poster bed dominated one end of the chamber, bedecked with the same flowing lightweight material as the curtains. The bed was covered in several layers of furs and ornate blankets, and looked extremely inviting. The adjoining room was much smaller than the others, and was obviously a dressing room. It had several large mirrors, and a woman's makeup table. Many beautifully carved wardrobes stood within the room, each groaning under the weight of fine clothing. There were several comfortable chairs and a small sofa in the room, although Aislinn could not understand who else she might have in her dressing room.
Although everything in her new dwelling was beautiful beyond compare, Aislinn was slightly deflated as she explored her surroundings. Everything, from the immense bed down to the fine shoes were varying shades of gold - the one color she felt very uncomfortable associating herself with, considering nature of her bindings. She had realized by now that almost the entire city was golden, a color the Asgardians obviously associated with light and honor.
"My Queen, Frigga, has been overseeing the decoration of this room from the moment I told her of your recovery." Odin explained. "Perhaps she was overzealous?" he continued as he observed the overstuffed dressing room and the intimidated expression on Aislinn's face.
"Oh no my King. It is generosity I can scarce credit. I am not sure that I have deserved this."
Odin took Aislinn's hands in his own and looked into her eyes. "My dear, your mother and father were both born into the noble houses of Asgard, and you might have been raised in this palace if they had remained here. They were both good companions to me, but your mother was my closest friend and adviser. The least I can do to honor her memory is to give her child the best my house has to offer. Besides, my Frigga has wished for a daughter every day since our sons were born. Please accept these gifts of affection, and understand that we give them with joy."
Aislinn nodded, humbled.
"I sense that you are not entirely happy, Aislinn." Odin looked at her questioningly. "Would you prefer…" he began, but Aislinn interrupted him.
"I am sorry, Allfather. I am grateful beyond words, but… all the gold… it makes me think of…"
Odin's head snapped up with sudden comprehension, and he seemed about to usher Aislinn out of the room when she continued, "Might I have your permission to change the colors?"
Odin looked at her confusedly, but nodded none the less.
Aislinn spread her hands apart, and took a few deep breaths. Magic leapt from her fingertips and spread out over everything in her chambers, causing them to ripple as though being observed through a haze. The colors began to change; all the golden adornments became colored with the colors of nature. Browns, spring greens, rich blues, they all blossomed over the rooms. In a flash, the spell was complete, and Aislinn's smile lit up her eyes. Odin was impressed, and asked her many questions about how it had been done.
Eventually, the Allfather made ready to take his leave. He explained that he did not want Aislinn to strain herself, and that he wished her to take all the time she needed to adjust. Her maids would soon introduce themselves, and they could fetch her anything she desired. Her meals would be sent up to her, and she was to rest until she felt ready to join the court. Aislinn smiled at this, although she had her trepidations about remaining in her chambers for any length of time. These new rooms might be many times the size of her original home, but she had always spent the majority of her time outdoors.
…
The moment Odin left her alone Aislinn flopped down onto the nearest sofa and stared into the fire. Her life was changing at such a pace, and she wasn't even sure exactly what had happened to her. Her home and her family were gone. She would have to build a new life here. There would be many choices in her future, but one thing was certain: she could not turn into an invalid princess in a golden tower. Her nature was by far too energetic and curious to stand it for long.
Overwhelmed by her worries and experiences, she drifted off to sleep before the fire and dreamt of green eyes in the darkness.
….
Aislinn was awoken by a gentle touch on her shoulder: her handmaidens had arrived. One, Tofa, was shorter and a bit heavy set, but her smile was warm and approachable. She wore her long mahogany hair loosely tied back from her face, and seemed pleased with all the world. Her counterpart was precisely the opposite. Sigrid was tall and willowy. Her bright yellow hair was plated elaborately like a fine lady's, and her face looked like it might have been carved by a master artist. Although kind, she was aloof. She carried herself with more pride and regal bearing than Aislinn thought she would ever be able to summon.
The handmaidens were both sweet girls, but they made Aislinn feel rather uncomfortable. Both girls were young, beautiful, and highborn. Only members of noble houses were permitted the honor of serving royalty. Aislinn had grown up in little more than a cottage and had never known riches before in her life, now feeling like an imposter.
The rest of the day was filled with many awkward encounters as Aislinn attempted to accept their ministrations with the grace of a noble lady. She had still been wearing loose fitting tunics and trousers in the healing rooms, and today she was re-wearing the garments Loki had magicked from a hospital sheet. She was sure that she looked like a ragamuffin peasant beside Tofa, and could not imagine quite what she looked like next to Sigrid.
The young women first set to readying a bath for Aislinn in a small room in the back of the dressing room that Aislinn had missed, and were surprised and mildly affronted when she used magic to summon and heat the water instead of the usual labor of heating it over the fire pit. Aislinn wanted to excuse herself and bathe in privacy, but she could not bring herself to break with custom again so soon.
Her mother had explained some things about court life to her; that service was an honor, whether it was to one's King in battle, or a maiden's duty to her mistress safe within the palace chambers. Aislinn might feel that she was not worth the honor of their service, but she was not about to give the impression that she thought they were beneath her honor either.
She suffered them to help her out of her raggedy clothes, and she practically dove into the bathtub to be better shielded from their eyes. Sigrid washed her hair with careful and skilled hands, while Tofa laced the water with sweet smelling salts and offered Aislinn a variety of bathing tools. Aislinn chose a large soft sponge at random, and set to quickly scrubbing at herself until Sigrid was finished lathering her long hair. She had to admit, Sigrid was gentle and her touch was very relaxing, but she still dove under the water to rinse out her hair the moment Sigrid had finished, and promptly stumbled out of the tub as soon as she was relatively devoid of suds.
Tofa wrapped her in soft towels, deftly forming a make-shift robe of them, and led Aislinn out into the dressing room, gesturing for her to sit in the plush chair before the makeup table. Before they could even begin, Aislinn hurriedly told them, "I- I do not wear makeup… would you mind, could we not do that today?"
Sigrid allowed herself a scandalized look as she stood behind Aislinn (not realizing that she could be seen in the mirror) but Tofa smiled widely and said, "Of course dear! Would you like to wear some perfume, perhaps?"
They set about trying to mold her into something vaguely resembling a fine lady. Sigrid carefully combed out every tangle, remaining mostly silent, while Tofa flitted about the room chattering away. She filed Aislinn's nails, offered her a variety of clothes and shoes, all the while tittering about the palace gossip. Aislinn settled on the simplest most comfortable looking clothes Tofa showed her, reasoning with her that she was to take dinner in her room and there was little sense in dirtying very fine things if no one would see them.
Sigrid dried Aislinn's beautiful red hair on a soft towel, and began binding it tightly to Aislinn's head in a rather severe style, when Tofa intercepted her. "Oh! My lady's hair looks so much more beautiful loose. Look at the length Sigrid, and the lovely curls!" Sigrid curtsied curtly and excused herself from the room, going off in a huff.
"You must forgive her, my lady. She is used to being the most beautiful maiden in Odin's court, but no longer!" Tofa exclaimed cheerfully, "Sigrid might be very lovely, but the court is abuzz with news of your beauty now. I think she had hoped to catch herself a prince with her gorgeous face!" Tofa giggled quietly as she weaved a few delicate braids into Aislinn's hair.
"In fact, Prince Thor has not been able to speak of anything but your beauty and the way he saved your life!" Tofa continued in a confidential tone of voice.
"Thor?" Aislinn queried, "He was not the one who saved me…"
"Really my lady? It is the only story on everyone's lips in the whole realm, how Thor broke the magical bindings on your arms? Is it not the truth?" She asked incredulously, her hands pausing on Aislinn's hair.
"Well, yes…" Aislinn replied, "but he only knew what to do because Loki discovered their meaning and origin. He is the one who saved my life, I think."
Tofa's face became suddenly troubled as she drew the delicate braids to the back of Aislinn's head. They created a subtle restraint on the body of her hair, stopping it from falling into her face. The rest of her hair spilled down her back so long she had to flick it to the side to prevent herself from sitting on it.
"What is the matter, Tofa?" Aislinn asked, "Have I said something wrong?"
She sighed and hesitated, but eventually answered, "Although one should not speak ill of any member of the royal family," she prefaced, "the younger Prince is known to be a bit of a… trickster. He has been out of favor with his father these many months because of… But no." She cut herself off and smiled briefly up at Aislinn in the mirror, "You should judge for yourself, and I am sure you will. There! Finished and lovely if I may say so. Let's get you into that dress."
Tofa helped Aislinn into the simple white dress she had chosen. It was little more than a shift, but Aislinn liked its simplicity. Tofa got her way with some prettily decorated sandals and a few pieces of jewelry: a delicate chain with a pendant of silver expertly carved to look like a rose, a simple ring affixed with a single opal, and a chain bracelet with many small gemstones that dangled from it like raindrops.
The minute that Tofa stopped fussing over her, Sigrid called from the other room, and the three young women were reunited in the large sitting room. A sideboard had been set up, and piled high with food. Aislinn served herself a plate while Tofa asked her questions about her preferences in food. Aislinn owned that most Asgardian food was foreign to her, as her parents had lived in a very simple way on the far away planet on which she was raised. At this Sigrid let out a huff of disapproval, but Tofa simply launched into a description of each article on the table. This meat had a hearty and delicious taste, that fish was light and sweet, those fruits were tart at first, but had a refreshing and sweet aftertaste and so on. In the end, Aislinn simply took a tiny bit of almost everything and was surprised to find she loved almost all of it.
…
The following two days were much the same for Aislinn. She bathed, was dressed, ate, rested, read books and chatted with her maids until she could feel her teeth almost set on edge. She was not cut out for such a quiet life.
She tried to explain herself to Tofa, whom she was beginning to feel very close to already. "I know that I should be grateful for all I am given, and be satisfied," she began, "but in my old life, I was never still, in body or in mind. I trained to be a fighter like my mother, and to be a sorcerer like my father. I read books of history and explored the country side, hunted and worked the soil with my hands! I must be – or at least feel useful and productive or I will simply throw myself off the tower!"
"Perhaps you should ask the Allfather if you can continue your training?" Tofa offered. "There are only a few female warriors in service, but one of them is the beautiful and noble Lady Sif who is about your age, and she is close to the Prince and the King. If they can admit her into the Prince's little band of adventurers, surely they cannot deny you the right to train."
"Odin seems to think I am cast out of porcelain." Aislinn said rather despairingly. "I fear he would answer 'No' out of hand. He wants me to 'rest' and feels that I may be overwhelmed with court life. I suppose I might be. I know almost nothing about the procedures and manners of a royal court."
"But I could teach you!" Tofa exclaimed. "If you ask Odin formally while he holds court, he will have to consider it properly and give you a real answer!"
The following day was given over to teaching Aislinn some of the niceties of court, how to curtsy, how to address the king, the gesture of closing her fist against her chest while kneeling to offer her fealty as a warrior. When they had rehearsed her little speech to the point of redundancy, Tofa insisted on organizing an elaborate wardrobe for what would be Aislinn's impromptu introduction to the court. She insisted on a lavish formal gown, despite Aislinn's distaste for the elaborate and difficult to wear garments. They eventually settled on an amethyst silk dress, which highlighted the color of her skin, hair and eyes. The gown was simpler than some, without heavy layers of draped fabric, but still expertly made and flowed like water through the hands. Tofa amused herself arranging out a lavish set of jewelry, which Aislinn managed to negotiate down to a large pendant of clear stone that caught the light like a star and several hair pins each studded with the same kind of stone at the end.
In the morning Aislinn rose early, breakfasted lightly and spent the balance of the morning pacing the room, until her maidens began to prepare her for the court. She even suffered Sigrid to apply a very little make up to her eyes to make their midnight blue stand out brighter and more noticeable, although she would wear no stain on her lips or cheeks.