Odin had sat down to look over a few things when a guard approached him. "Your majesty, Heimdall asked me to tell you that the prince and princess will be returning with Lord Kiren, Lady Eiren, and young Vinius, today. They wish to to speak with you and the queen." The guard told him.
"When will they be arriving?" Odin asked.
"They will be arriving at the throne room in a half hour." The guard answered.
"Thank you." Odin replied. The guard bowed and then left. Odin rose from his seat and went to the garden, where he found his queen.
She smiled softly at him. "What is going on?" She inquired.
"Our children and the elfin nobles are returning to have an audience with us, my queen." Odin answered.
"Well, then we should be ready to receive them." Frigga replied.
The couple then headed off to the throne room to await their family and friends. Just as Heimdall had said, they were walking in within the half hour mark. "We heard word, that you wished to speak with us?" Odin asked, as they entered.
"Yes, your majesty." Lord Kiren answered. "It is about the marriage we have arranged between our son and the young princess."
"Is something wrong?" Odin asked.
"We request that we call off the marriage." Lord Kiren answered.
Odin was completely taken aback by this news. He shot his daughter an accusatory glare. "If this is because you threw a temper tantrum..." He began.
"Please do not blame Princess Ava?" Vinius spoke up. "It is because I am in love with another woman. I do not believe it is fair for me to marry Princess Ava when my heart belongs to another."
"Nor do I believe it is fair to Vinius to marry me, when he loves another." Ava added. "I would not wish to keep someone else from the one they love for the sake of diplomacy."
"And we do not wish to have the children resent us for forcing them into a loveless marriage." Lady Eiren added.
Odin looked at his wife. "It would not be a good match and would only end badly." Frigga said.
Odin sighed in defeat and nodded. "The marriage is off. I hope that our alliance will still stand strong."
"Of course it will." Lord Kiren replied.
The group spoke a few more moments, before the elfin nobles left. Once the royal family of Asgard was alone, Odin looked at his daughter. "It appears we will be finding you a new suitor from Alfheim. There were a few other noble families that have sons around your age..."
"No." Ava said, her tone commanding.
Odin looked at his daughter, his facial expression questioning her insolence. "What was that?" He asked, as if giving her a chance to change her reply.
Ava squared her shoulders and looked her father right in the eye. "I will choose my own husband. He will not be chosen for me to fulfill your political agenda. If you do not like it, then I will be forced to flee from Asgard and take refuge on one of the other nine realms, where I will use my magic to conceal myself from you."
Frigga had to conceal a smirk of motherly pride in her daughter. She was enjoying the way her daughter was standing up for herself.
"Is that so?" Odin asked.
Ava nodded. "Yes, Father. I will choose my own husband. In this one respect, I wish to be treated equal to my brother."
"I stand by her as well, Father." Thor spoke up, in support of his little sister.
Odin looked at his two children. "So...this is how it is? My entire family has turned against me on this issue?"
"Yes." The three other members of his family answered.
Odin let out another sigh. "I suppose I have no choice then. Ava, you are free to marry whomever you choose when you come of age."
Ava smiled triumphantly. "Thank you, Father."
Odin let out another sigh and waved his hand. Thor and Ava bowed respectfully to him before leaving. "You did a good thing, my husband." Frigga told him.
"I just hope she makes a good choice."
Ava...
"So, what are you going to do to celebrate the end of your engagement?" Thor asked his sister, as they walked through the halls.
"I'm going to go and change and then I'm going to find Loki and tell him the good news." Ava answered.
"Why are you going to change?" Thor asked.
"I want to look my best." Ava replied. She stretched up and kissed his cheek before making her way to her chambers.
Thor chuckled and shook his head as his sister ran off. "I just hope that this doesn't end badly." He muttered to himself.
Ava arrived at her room and pulled out her winter dress and cloak. She sneaked out of the palace and was soon leaping off of the mountain and landing in the Jotunheim. She cloaked herself in the darkness that surrounded her and made her way to the temple. To her disappointment, Loki was not there.
Ava made sure to tighten up her cloaking spell and then began to search for her beloved. She made her way through the Jotunheim, until she found the palace. She found Loki practicing battle techniques with a group of what appeared to be guards.
Ava stayed hidden and watched. While the other Frost Giants towered over Loki, he didn't let that intimidate or stop him. He used his smaller size to his advantage and was able to move more quickly than the others.
Ava couldn't help but to be mesmerized by watching Loki in battle...even mock battle. She watched how he easily maneuvered and brought his opponents to their knees. He moved fluidly, his lean muscles moving beneath his azure skin. Ava couldn't help but to have wicked thoughts running through her mind about what those muscles and rhythmic movements could do to her.
She shook herself mentally. If I lose my concentration, I'll end up breaking my hold over my spell. She thought. We can't have that. She continued to watch and wait for the training session to be over. Once it was over, Loki began to walk into the palace. She followed not far behind him.
"Loki." A voice said from ahead of them in the frozen hall.
Loki stopped and looked up. "Hello, Father."
Ava watched as the king of the Frost Giants approached them. "I have heard that your training has been going well, Loki." Laufey said.
Loki nodded. "Yes."
"Good. I want to see your training tomorrow morning. I want to see for myself how well it's going."
"Yes, Father." Loki agreed.
Laufey nodded and then continued on down the hall. Ava had to move out of the way or risk being hit by the Jotun king. While dodging out of his way, Ava's hand brushed up against Loki's back. "Ava?" She heard him whisper.
Before doing or saying anything, Ava made sure that Laufey hadn't noticed anything. Luckily, he just continued on his way down the hall. Ava then grabbed Loki's hand, lacing her fingers through his. She watched as a surprised yet excited smile crossed his lips.
Loki was then pulling Ava up the hall and through a door. He shut and locked the door behind them. "Okay, we're alone now." He said.
Ava grinned as she dropped her cloaking spell. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Loki responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her back. He pulled her close, wanting to have her as close as possible.
After a few moments, Loki broke the kiss. He looked down at Ava, smiling. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be in Alfheim?"
"I was." Ava answered. "But...something wonderful happened...and I had to come and tell you about it."
"What happened?" Loki asked, his eyes and tone showing how hopeful he was.
"My engagement is over." She answered, her grin widening. "And Father said that I can choose for myself."
Loki's answering smile was just as happy and excited as Ava's. "That is the best news I've ever heard...how? How did this happen?"
"When we arrived on Alfheim, Vinius was giving us a tour...and we ran into a friend of his, Nessa. He's in love with her the way I am with you...everyone came to an agreement that it wouldn't be right to force them apart and Vinius and myself together."
Loki lifted a hand to cup Ava's cheek. He traced her lower lip with his thumb. He didn't say a word. He just pulled her closer and bent his head down to place a gentle, yet passionate kiss that said everything he couldn't put into words. Ava pulled herself closer, saying all of the same things back in her kiss.