Chapter 3

The cottage was a lot more to Thor's expectations than the last time he had visited. A drape hid the bed and sleeping area at the back of the house, while a fire sat blazing merrily beneath a pot in the center. All the small shutter windows were open to let out the smoke, but the homely smell of warm, cooking food filled the small space comfortingly.

It made Thor smile as he stepped inside, and Imogen's father closed the door behind him. The man was beaming, simply overjoyed that his daughter and granddaughter had come.

The prince's heart warmed to see the small family reunite as Imogen's mother rose from her place beside the pot and wrapped her daughter in warm arms.

"Thank you for taking the time to see us today." Aevar said beside Thor, smiling on softly upon the women as Imogen peeled back slightly to look down at the baby between her and her mother. Thor glimpsed little Shelby peeking out innocently.

Thor just nodded and clapped the man fondly on the back. "Come Aevar." he chuckled, turning to grasp his forearm in a firm, but warm grip. His bright blue eyes met his violet ones, the same shade as Imogen's. "We're family now."

He watched the blacksmith's smile widen. His hand grasped around Thor's forearm, his spare clapping on Thor's shoulder like he was greeting a son. "That we are." he agreed, happy twinkle in his eyes.

Thor let his grin widen. This man was the father of his bride, the man who had raised Imogen to who she was today... he liked Aevar a lot. Before he'd met Imogen he'd been fond of the blacksmith's work, but since her... not only did he have a Valhalla blessed daughter, but also a clever wit, a kind heart and a charming, playful personality.

It was only in recent months that Thor had been able to learn about Imogen's parents. Before their marriage, Aevar had been drawn and distant, and Imogen's mother wracked with sickness.

Now, seeing them both healthy and happy, Thor was able to learn more about them at last.

"It is good to see you so well, Volva." Thor said warmly as he turned to Imogen's mother, the pair switching parents. His hand cupped the woman's shoulder fondly as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. The echo of when she'd been on the brink of death was painfully clear in his mind.

But now... she looked like the sort of spirited woman that raised Imogen. Her hair was fiery red again, her cheeks fuller and less sunken since her illness had deserted her. A healthy red touched her cheeks, freeing her skin of it's deathly paleness. But what really did it was the smile, so full of energy and life...

"How's my precious little princess?" cooed Aevar behind them, Thor and his mother-in-law turning to find the blacksmith grinning shamelessly down at the baby in his daughter's arms.

Warm smiles bathed on Thor and Imogen's faces as they watched the man wave a thick finger to the tiny baby, beaming when she grasped it. Her round blue orbs stared curiously up at her grandfather. Thor couldn't fault the absolute wonder in the blacksmith's eyes, so entranced by such a little baby - he had been exactly the same after Shelby had been born.

Volva's hand touched fondly at his shoulder, and he could feel her smile. "How are you finding fatherhood?"

Thor couldn't tear his eyes from his wife and daughter, dreamy smile on his face. "There are good days and bad days." The god confessed. Regardless, his smile widened: "But the good more than make up for it."

He wouldn't trade a single day he'd had with Shelby. Not for anything. Still... he'd defeated entire armies and conquered cities and worlds without breaking a sweat, and yet one tiny baby had him fearing more than he believed possible! Shelby had opened him to a suffering - but one he loved.

Sleepless nights and panic that his little girl would never be happy enough to stop crying were far outweighed by the absolute joy that filled his heart everytime those beautiful blue orbs stared up at him curiously.

He was certain she was recognising him now. More and more often her eyes held less of the 'who are you?' surprise and more of the 'oh... something familiar' sort of comfort. It made Thor feel like the most powerful man on all of Asgard.

A blissful sigh breathed beside him. "She looks just like Imogen did when she was small." Volva sighed with a smile. "Only blonde."

Thor's smile widened. It was hard to imagine Imogen as a baby, as a child - as anything other than this wonderful tempting goddess he saw before him, who had carried and bore a child of her own. His child.

He was in a world of his own as Volva turned her attention back to the pot hovering over the fire. Everything seemed to move in slow motion; Aevar glanced to his calling wife from his grand daughter and with a reluctant smile, handed her back to her mother before joining his wife at the pot side.

Then Imogen smiled at him and his heart stopped. Her eyes never left his as she pressed a kiss to the side of Shelby's forehead, glittering like stars.

And Thor just couldn't hold back anymore.

He strode forward and wrapped an arm around Imogen's shoulders, pressing a kiss into her hair. His spare hand cupped Shelby, cradled to his wife.

She offered no resistance when his fingers slipped under hers, teasing the baby into his embrace. Thor smiled, as he dropped his arm from around Imogen and shifted Shelby more comfortably against him, holding her delicately.

She was awake, thumb in her mouth as her large round blue orbs stared up at him like jewels. Gods, she was so beautiful. He cradled her tenderly in the crook of his arm, just enjoying holding her. These were the 'good' moments. He clicked the image of his daughter's face in his mind and prayed he would never forget how truly perfect she was right at this moment.

His baby girl, his daughter. She would not inherit the kingdom - she'd be his to cherish for all eternity. To make feel special.

Thor was already planning it; her first horse and teaching her to ride, Imogen teaching her to sew, Thor happy to buy her jewellery and gowns and anything at all she desired... she would have everything. And Thor couldn't wait to give it to her.

Imogen wrapped her arms around his bicep and nuzzled her cheek against his armour, staring down at their daughter with him. They'd made something so perfect together...

"When is the coronation, Thor?" Aevar asked, across by the pot, drawing the god's attention.

Thor glanced up reluctantly, cradling Shelby firmer to compensate for it. The blacksmith was holding the bowls his wife ladelled stew into while he spoke, performing the task robotically almost.

The coronation... "Two moons from now." Thor sighed, the weighty thoughts on his mind again. Still, he forced the grin on his face, brightening his expression for his family-in-law. "Soon you will have no choice but to live in better living quarters, Aevar," his eyes sparkled teasingly. "Else deny the express command of your king."

It seemed that with Thor's marriage Odin had seen a new side grow within his son - one that was ready to take up the title he was born for. And Thor was terrified.

Still, he kept a smile for Imogen and her family's sake. He was just being weak, he told himself. The throne was something to leap for not be afraid of. All that power...there was a whole kingdom to protect, at stake. His treasured wife was part of that kingdom. And his daughter. He tried to only focus on them; to take up the throne so he might better protect them and make them happier. That was what kept him going.

A whole city of people he didn't know... or his family. He'd take up the throne as if he only need guard his two most valuable girls. He'd worry about the truth later. When there was no way to go back.

Aevar grinned, but Thor could see the refusal in his eyes. "While there is still strength left in my hands I will put them to good use."

The symbol of honest hard work, Thor thought as he watched Aevar. Even with his daughter to become a Queen and he was resisting their royal aid. He liked to have everything he worked for, nothing more, nothing less.

Thor found it most admirable. Everything he had had been his by birth right. He'd never really had to work outside of battles and he simply enjoyed them too much to call it work.

His eyes fell down to Imogen as she helped place the bowls and plates of bread in a circle on the floor, for them to sit.

Would he have her if he were just a normal man? He wouldn't have been able to offer her what he had. The money, the position ... would he have been able to woo her as a commoner? Would they even have met at all?

It was something that he'd realised and kept in his mind about his royal status. Without it, there would be no Imogen. No Imogen meant no Shelby. His whole life rested on his position. And now he need advance it.

Before Imogen, he'd been eager for kingship. The power, the glory, the battles he would lead... not anymore. Now he dreaded the thought of war. War was danger - a danger he didn't want threatening his family. And what if he were to be killed? He wasn't just his to lose anymore. Imogen would lose a husband. Shelby would lose a father, as would all the countless other children Thor hoped to one day have with his wife.

And he'd seen hardship. He'd seen Imogen's mother sick. When she was ill it had been him that had ensured her wellfare. For one woman it was achievable. But a whole kingdom? That was a huge responsibility to ensure the kingdom worked well enough to keep them all well, fed and warm, all on his head.

Thor was forced to put Shelby down as they sat to eat, spreading out her blanket and letting her squirm to her hearts content. She looked happily oblivious in her own world.

She had no way of knowing that in two moons time she would be a princess. That every girl would grow up wishing they were her and every boy wishing they could have her. Which they wouldn't. Ever. Thor wouldn't let his precious daughter be taken from him. No one could look after her better than her father could.

He stroked her cheek still, even as he proped his bowl of soup in his lap and began to eat, not able to take his eyes off her. I'm going to be king for you, he thought in his head, smiling at her. Everything, for you...

"How's business, Aevar?" Thor asked, not wanting to ignore his company. His eyes flickered up to the man opposite him.

The blacksmith grinned. "It is booming." he chuckled, glancing to his wife, who just pressed her lips together in a smirk. "The father-in-law of the to-be-king is very sought after in his trade."

Thor chuckled. Another person his status had helped. He guessed he had a lot to be thankful for, things he'd just taken for granted until Imogen had come and changed his life.

"We bumped into Koli on the way here." Imogen said beside him, flickering her husband a grin. Her thigh pressed subtly against his.

You would have to be blind to miss the dark look that crossed Aevar's face, only making Imogen's grin widen, a giggle leaving her. Volva's eyes rolled beside her husband.

Aevar dug his spoon into his soup as if trying to beat something inside it to death, his mouth thin and his voice tense: "I thank the gods every day that you saved my daughter from that wretch, Thor." His head shook bitterly. "Every day."

Thor blinked, lifting his eyebrows. He hadn't expected that. "He seemed a decent enough man to my eyes."

He didn't like the man. Gods knew he'd be more than ready to tear him to pieces if he so much as winked at Imogen, just based on the knowledge of how he'd touched her in the past. But the comtempt he saw in the blacksmith's face was something he hadn't expected of Aevar. Thor had never heard him speak a bad word of anyone. It just wasn't in his nature.

"On the surface, yes." Aevar agreed, his eyes lifting. He pointed his spoon at Thor in his frustration to emphasise his point. "But he is wicked in heart. Insensitive." His head shook, eyes brushing away. "He is not waiting for Elga as he so claims. He has been spreading himself with the local women since the day she was locked away."

Well...Thor couldn't argue with that. And that man had the decency to walk around with his held high? To look Thor in the eye as if he were an honourable man...

No. Thor agreed with Aevar.

"Then perhaps they deserve each other." he said, matching Aevar's bitter tone.

He remembered the woman he'd ordered Elga to prison. He remembered her clearly. Her sentence had been extended by months since her original condemnation. Apparently she'd been hysterical the first few weeks, cursing Thor and Odin with screams. Such insults weren't taken lightly.

Added on to that, her older sabotage attempts for Imogen had been unveiled and her sentence extended still. She'd just over doubled her original sentencing.

She was due to be released soon. Thor wasn't sure when the exact date was, but he knew it was coming. And then, he'd have her dismissed from the palace service and sent back to her parents and snake of a fiance to do with as they so choose fit. She wouldn't be their problem anymore. A part of him pitied her for her year in jail... but then he remembered it was earned by her own doing, her own fault.

"I dread to think of what I would have done to him if he'd got his hands on my daughter." the blacksmith growled, drawing Thor out of his thoughts.

His eyes flickered instinctively to Imogen. Thankfully Aevar's eyes were still lowered - else he would have seen the burning flush on his daughter's cheeks. Thor fought down his smirk.

If only Aevar knew Koli had already had his way with his precious daughter. Hadn't defiled her, but had certainly had his lustful fill back in that barn who knew how many summers ago.

Then again, if he knew what Thor had done to her in that barn not an hour ago...

"It is passed now." Thor cleared his throat, trying to move the subject on. He put a bright smile on his face and swept it between his parent-in-law. His hand reached back and reconnected with his daughter, thumb stroking her cheek tenderly. "Let us look to the future."

He focussed his eyes on Aevar and the blacksmith met him levelly, eyes still dark. Thor didn't let up. His serene blue eyes locked with his elder's until the anger started to ease from the violet orbs. Finally, a smile quirked at the blacksmith's lips.

He set his bowl down with a clatter and leaned forward, elbows on his needs. He eyes never left Thor. "Asgard is fortunate to have such a man as you to be its king." he said proudly. "We are fortunate. You have given us so much as a family, and for that we are eternally grateful."

"Father..." Imogen mumbled, cheeks flushing.

Aevar didn't relent. "No, Imogen, I must say it." he insisited, fixing his solid eyes on his daughter. "It has been building in my heart since the day he first visited this cottage. Think where we would be without him. You would be motherless. We would be poor. Chances are you would have been pregnant with Koli's illegitimate child rather than Thor's." His gaze shifted back to the prince, feeling his heart thud hard and fast under the blacksmith's scrutiny. Aevar wouldn't lose his eye though, forcing Thor to see the gleaming, strong violet depths for himself. "We owe him our lives."

Thor glanced around and found it wasn't just Aevar staring at him; Imogen was too, as was her mother, both with somewhat glistening eyes. The sigh huffed from his body, shoulders slumping. His own bowl met the floor with a clatter as he reached an arm for Imogen's shoulders and eased her close to his side.

She curled up against him like he was her comfort, letting his arms engulf her. She was tense - fighting the emotion to save face in front of her parents, Thor knew.

Thor pressed his lips together in a modest smile, one he angled towards her parents. "You must stop this, Aevar." he chucked, glancing his eyes down to the wife he hugged to his chest. "You're not my subjects anymore, you are my family. And I would like to treat you as such."

No sooner had he lifted his eyes to his father-in-law than his attention was called behind him, Shelby letting out a little sneeze. Thor's heart clenched - it was just so adorable!

He and Imogen parted as they both turned behind them, matching smiles on their faces. This was it, he thought. No matter how much Aevar thought Thor had done for them, through Imogen, he believed they'd done him a much greater favour. And now with their daughter...

He reached back and scooped up his baby girl, smiling down at her lovingly. "You should take her example, Aevar." Thor grinned teasingly. "This little one has no qualms about taking advantage of me or her mother."

His heart warmed as his father and mother-in-law chuckled, feeling the air ease at last. It was good to be carefree for a while. No coronation, or duties to worry about - just having a good time with his family. He smiled down at the baby girl that was at the center of his world with absolute wonder, feeling her tiny form move against him, trying to beat her little fist against him.

This was what mattered. This was what kept him going. Everything, for the sake of his precious little daughter,

"Oh yes." he mused softly, stroking Shelby's cheek tenderly with the pad of his thumb. "Everything's going to be alright." he breathed calmly.