Maryn and Loki's hand-fasting was set for the same day as the engagement feast Odin and Frigga planned to throw for their son and his betrothed. The few weeks before the feast saw Maryn and Loki spending nearly every day together practicing their magic and strengthening Maryn's control over her powers, while at night Frigga made sure she, Loki, Maryn, Odin and Thor would sit down together to eat so that her soon-to-be daughter would become acquainted with her new family.
Through these dinners Maryn learnt that Thor loved to brag about his battle and hunting exploits while Loki, who was just as fierce in battle and skilled at the hunt, preferred to speak of magic, ideas, and logic rather than his own victories. Odin was easy to humour and loved to speak of past fights but also of political engagements and meetings he had presided over. Maryn also recognised that Frigga was the mediator between her two sons whenever an argument or disagreement became heated and she was also the only one that could lead Odin into tales of his early years as a prince and then as Allfather of Asgard.
The dynamic of the tight-knit family was something that Maryn had never experienced as her father had died just before she was born. It had always been just her and her mother and she had never had the opportunity to see how a married couple who were also parents acted around their children and each other, or how siblings related to one another.
After every dinner Loki would walk with her to the library or out into the gardens and they would talk; not about magic which they discussed most of the day, but about themselves, their hopes and dreams, wishes and fears. And then, when they were both feeling tired, the dark prince would walk her back to her rooms and leave her at the door with a murmured goodnight and a kiss to the back of her hand.
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"You look beautiful, my lady," Tora beamed when Maryn was dressed in the gown Frigga had helped her design for her hand-fasting and betrothal feast.
It was made of the softest forest-green silk with a gold-work border, draped and tucked elegantly to accentuate her petite figure. Matching gold sandals completed the look while covering the elaborate plaited and twisted bun of her shiny dark locks was a forest-green and gold veil which she would slip down and wear as a wrap once the hand-fasting ceremony was complete. She wore Loki's engagement ring and a wrist cuff and earrings of beaten gold with a crescent moon pattern cut into the metal.
The gift she had chosen for Loki was a dagger. After being shown the finest gold and silver examples of a dress weapon, often set with precious gems and other unneeded embellishments, she had opted for a small dagger that was perfectly balanced. The hilt was made of gold and etched with runes of protection and strength in battle while the handle was made of gold and black-green polished leather in shallow v-shaped lines. The blade itself was of the hardest metal and forged in the palace's own smith's furnace before she had cast a spell on it to keep it always sharp.
Once she was dressed and the wooden box where the dagger lay in a bed of green velvet was in Tora's arms, the two women stepped out of their quarters and were met by Odin and Thor just outside. Offering Maryn his arm, resplendent in his dress armour the Allfather smiled down at her and then led the small party through the palace and to the great hall where the people waited to see their new princess.
Maryn's heart was pounding at the cheers and revelry she could hear the closer they got to the great hall. Once at the doors Odin leaned down and spoke softly to her, "Take a breath and smile, daughter."
Maryn smiled with a little trepidation and then as she took a deep breath, the golden doors of the hall opened and she was met with masses of Asgardians cheering and clapping. Odin led her through the portal and she was suddenly very aware that Loki stood at the end of the hall before Odin's throne waiting for her. Panicking slightly at the number of people around her she glanced around for a friendly face in the sea of strangers.
Suddenly Loki's voice murmured soothingly in her ear as if he was standing right beside her, "Keep your eyes on me, Maryn."
Her gaze flew to his and she felt herself relax enough to truly smile at the people around her. Once at the foot of the steps leading up to the dais where Odin's throne sat, the Allfather slipped her arm from the crook of his own and turned to put her hand into Loki's. The dark prince stepped forward and accepted his betrothed's hand before moving to stand at her side. The couple watched Odin ascend the steps to stand before his gilded throne. Maryn's grasp tightened around Loki's upper forearm and she pressed a little closer to him as her nerves got the better of her.
"I'm here with you, sweet one," Loki's spoke so only she could hear.
Nodding a little jerkily the small brunette let him lead her around the steps of gold and through a small door to the side of the throne dais. The Allfather raised his hands and the crowd fell quiet before he led his queen, Thor and Tora through the same door.
Maryn gasped softly at the sight of the Yggdrasil depiction. It took up one whole wall of the sanctuary. The room was lit only with candles so that the polished coloured glass trunk, branches and leaves of the Ash and the precious stones that studded its surface glinted in the golden light. Loki led her to stand before the tree and their four witnesses stepped forward to stand around them.
"We are gathered today to witness the union of this man and woman in a hand-fasting that will join their two houses," Odin spoke in a clear, strong voice, his eye sweeping over his family and the couple before him. "Theirs is a union blessed by me and by the heavens and magic around us." Taking the folded silk scarf from the small table that sat beside the depiction the Allfather waited for his son to take Maryn's left hand in his own.
The feel of Loki's large hand wrapping around her own made a faint blush fill Maryn's cheeks and she lifted her eyes from their entwined hands to his face, feeling his bright green gaze look straight into her soul, if that were even possible.
"I, Loki Odinson, in the presence of these witnesses and the Yggdrasil, bow my will to yours, Maryn Niadotter. I pledge my fighting arm, my blood, and my very heart to protecting you as is my right and honour. I will care for you and treat you as a wife and will do everything in my power to make sure no harm comes to you. If, by the end of this year, our choosing has been for naught, I will respect your right to choose another. This vow I swear to keep until the last breath has left my body." He spoke as if they were the only two people in the room and Maryn thought she would never catch her breath her heart was pounding so hard.
In the quiet after his vow was complete, Maryn unconsciously tightened her hand around his before speaking, "I, Maryn Niadotter, in the presence of these witnesses and the Yggdrasil, bow my will to yours Loki Odinson. I pledge my love, my body, and my very heart to serving you as is my right and honour. I will care for you and treat you as a husband and will do everything in my power to honour your will and make a home for us and our children." At those words her blush deepened but she kept her eyes on his face, "If, by the end of this year, our choosing has been for naught, I will respect your right to choose another. This vow I swear to keep until the last breath has left my body."
Lost in Loki's bright gaze, Maryn barely heard the blessing Odin intoned as he wrapped the consecrated cloth around their hands. And then, as one, she and Loki turned and knelt before the Ash and their witnesses stepped forward and laid their hands on their shoulders before the group bowed to the tree.
Quietly, while the couple was still kneeling, Odin, Frigga, Thor and Tora left the small chapel, closing the door behind them. Trembling slightly with a mixture of excitement and nerves, Maryn raised her eyes to the Ash, Loki's hand still wrapped tightly around hers and the silk of the scarf somehow making their clasped hands feel almost too intimate. Turning to her Loki unwrapped the scarf from their entwined hands reverently. Biting her lip, Maryn allowed him to help her to her feet before she slipped her hand from his and turned to pick up the box inside which her gift for him sat. Handing it to him she watched as he opened it and pulled out the dagger.
"I hope you like it, Loki," she murmured watching him weigh the weapon in his hand and turn it so that the blade pointed up his forearm before he spun it expertly between his fingers.
"It is beautiful. I shall treasure it, thank you Maryn," he smiled and she realised how open he had become with her. Slipping the blade into its sheath, he tucked it into a secret pocket of his tunic and then looked at her again, a delicate gold chain hanging from between his fingers. The pendant that dangled from the chain was a smooth green egg-shaped gem about the size of Maryn's smallest fingernail suspended in ropes of leaf shaped, etched gold which were wrapped around it.
Loki stepped around her and looped the chain around her neck, fastening it. The pendant slipped down to sit comfortably in the dip of her cleavage.
"It's warm," she marvelled; the gold and stone feeling just a little warmer than her skin.
Loki moved to stand before her again. "It is enchanted," he told her. "Touch the pendant to any liquid and the surface will show you whoever you wish to see."
"Will-will you show me later tonight, after the feast?" she asked her cheeks colouring at the way those words could be interpreted.
But her betrothed only smiled and nodded, "As you wish, my lady," he bowed low to her unable to hide the pleased smile curling up the corners of his lips. When he straightened the air between them seemed to shift and fill with tension and Maryn felt her heart thud in anticipation when he took a step toward her. "Maryn, I…"
He was cut off by a loud knock to the chapel's door, Thor's voice booming from the other side, "Come Loki, Maryn, the feasting awaits!"
Loki cleared his throat and offered his arm to the small brunette blushing a soft pink beside him, his own nape and cheeks reddening for some reason, "Let's go before he knocks down the door."
With a small smile, Maryn slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow, "Well, we can't have that, now can we?"
Loki looked a little surprised that she would joke around with him but then his look dissolved into a smile, "No," he jested, "And if we are not quick, he and Volstagg will have consumed all the mead, wine and food before we even make it half way to the hall."
Maryn's smile widened and she let him lead her out of the chapel only to be snatched up in a tight hug by her soon-to-be brother-in-law.
"I believe I have always wanted a sister to look after," the God of Thunder grinned setting her down on her feet after a moment.
Happily, Maryn patted his arm, her other hand slipping once more into the crook of Loki's elbow and she stepped closer to the darker of the two princes never to know how much that simple gesture meant to her betrothed. The three then made their way to the great hall where the feasting was already in full swing.
Maryn was led away by Frigga and Odin and introduced to representatives of other realms who had come specifically to see Asgard's new princess. Loki, on the other hand, stood with his brother and their friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, watching Maryn smiling politely and commenting on certain parts of the conversation going on around her. His green gaze caught the sight of her small hand lifting unconsciously to the gold chain twinkling around her neck and closing around the pendant there. He smirked into his wine goblet knowing that her mind was on the gift he had given her and the promise he had made to show her what it could do after the feast. As soon as it was polite to do so, he excused himself from Fandral's retelling of one of his many romantic conquests and crossed the room to Maryn's side.
Jumping when a large hand pressed to her lower back, Maryn glanced up to see Loki smiling coolly at the envoy who was droning on about the benefits of trade being set up between Mithros and Vanaheim to Frigga and an obviously bored Odin.
"Excuse us, Envoy," he feigned niceness, "My betrothed and I are needed elsewhere."
Maryn saw the slight tightening of Frigga's mouth and Odin's narrowed eyes in response to their son's excuse that bordered on rudeness.
The envoy, completely oblivious, bowed respectfully to her and Loki and then turned to continue his conversation with the Allfather and Allmother. Loki's hand wrapped around Maryn's and he led her silently away from the party and out onto the balcony. Remembering the altercation she had with Sigyn and Ulf there weeks before, the small brunette laced her fingers with Loki's own and stayed close to his side. The prince, however, didn't want to stay on the balcony where they could be easily interrupted by unwanted persons; instead he steered Maryn to the steps that led down from the right side of the balcony into the large public gardens of the palace.
Maryn pulled her veil, which she had wrapped around her shoulders inside the great hall, up to cover her hair.
"Can you run?" Loki asked her. At her nod they broke into a run toward the middle of one of the mazes in the garden.
Laughing, Maryn caught the grin Loki sent her way when he turned to look at her before he continued on, weaving expertly through the twists and turns of the maze until they both slowed to a stop at the middle. In the centre of the open space was a shallow marble basin filled with water that reflected the moonlight and the stars twinkling overhead. The perimeter of the open space was lined with marble benches where young couples no doubt came to while away the time together. Loki gently pulled his betrothed to the edge of the basin and looked at her expectantly.
Slipping the chain over her head, Maryn leaned over the water that seemed to almost glow in the light of the moon and carefully lowered the pendant to touch the surface of the water. The ripples that extended from the gem when it disturbed the surface of the liquid shimmered and the princess realised that instead of seeing the pale stone bottom of the bowl, she was instead looking at Tora who was smiling up at a guardsman.
"She is who you wish to see?"
Loki's voice broke her concentration and because her body and magic were already so aware of him, the image in the water wavered and changed, becoming an image of him as he watched her, his eyes glowing in the dim light around them.
Biting her lip, Maryn straightened, lifting the enchanted pendant from the water and returning it to sit around her neck before she turned to look up at him. Loki closed the distance between them, his hand coming up to cup Maryn's cheek as he leaned down.
Heart beating rapidly in her chest, Maryn leaned into his touch and her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. Their lips were just about to meet when laughing echoed from the maze around them, followed by running feet. The couple pulled away from each other as two figures turned the corner and stepped into the maze's centre, wrapped in each other's embrace. Feeling Loki go rigid with anger beside her, Maryn glanced over to see Sigyn smirking at the two of them.
The blonde extricated herself from the arms of a young man that was clearly not her husband and curtsied to Loki and Maryn, "My prince, Lady Maryn," she sneered, her low cut gown showing even more of her cleavage as she dipped her head.
Face a cold mask, Loki held his arm out to Maryn, "Come," he spoke to her, his eyes never leaving Sigyn's, "Let us leave the lady and her lover." Silently he walked past Sigyn and her paramour who was bowing low to them and led Maryn out of the maze.