Chapter 5

Kari did not smile throughout the ceremony; she could not bring herself to. Instead she stared straight ahead, not even listening to Odin's words. She had no idea of who was even present. The only being she sensed was Thor, who stood almost as still next to her. When the ceremony was completely she realised that Thor was looking down at her, she knew what was expected of her, and she loathed it. He leant down and ceased just as he come to her lips, "I'm sorry." He whispered before pressing his against hers. They felt wrong, too big, and his facial hair made her wince slightly; it was wiry and harsh against her skin. When he pulled away the room erupted in cheers and the festivities began.

No one seemed to notice Loki's absence, except for his family. Odin had sent guards to speak with Heimdall to see where it was the prince had went, but the guardian did not know, Loki had made it so he would not be found. Frigga was heartbroken that her son was gone; she looked at Kari throughout the day wondering if the girl knew where he went. When she finally got a moment with her alone to ask her, Kari said nothing, she just stared ahead blankly, her eyes almost dead. Frigga apologised for what had happened, but all Kari did was nod once to acknowledge her words, nothing else.

She did not eat, and when the chalices and tankards were raised to celebrate the royal couple, she brought the chalice to her lips, but did not wish to drink. When the festivities got into full swing however, she found her only solace was the chalice, which did not take long to take effect, having eaten nothing all day. Her mood lightened slightly, but only because she had drank so much.

Thor too had wallowed in his tankard, but having actually eaten, he was not as worse for wear. He went over to her after some time to find her giggling at a shrimp. "Kari? Are you alright?"

"I am better than this poor guy apparently." She held up the shrimp. "Whoever thought to actually cook these things? I mean, they are weird looking and have loads of little legs, who thought 'you know what I think we should do, cook it and take off its shell and eat it.' Or did they not realise the shell was hard at first and bite that, because then they were even more peculiar for wanting to try a second time." She rambled, her words slightly slurred from the alcohol.

Thor looked at her worriedly. "Kari have you eaten anything today?"

Kari shook her head side to side very quickly. "Nope." She responded, popping the 'p'.

"You need to sleep this off." He went to take her arm but she pulled it from him.

"I need to be left alone." She glared up at him.

"I know you are angry, I am not too please either, but there is nothing we can do."

"He left." She looked at the crustacean again.

"I know."

"I…I…" She swallowed, trying not to let the tears fall, sobering very quickly. "I need to go to bed."

"Okay." Thor helped her to her feet. "Can you walk?"

"Yes, I was fortunate enough to figure it out as a young child." She retorted, the bemused look on Thor's face made her smile for a moment. "Sorry."

"At least you smiled, I can take pride in that."

"Aren't you a great husband." She looked at him sadly. "I think you are a wonderful person Thor, and I have little doubt that you would make most any woman delight in being your wife, I am sorry you are stuck with the one woman who would rather not be."

"And I am sorry it is I and not my brother that stood beside you today. I have looked forward to this day for so long, for both of you, but now, now it will be the day I lost my brother and crushed the heart of the woman he loves."

"None of this is your doing." She looked over at Odin, who sat happily in his chair, talking to her father, both men laughing. "I know I should not say this, but I hate him."

"I would be concerned if you did not." Thor admitted. "I am close to it myself. You best go to bed."

Kari nodded and headed from the hall quickly, not paying much regard to any as she passed through.

Thor walked over to one of the servants and ordered he be brought another tankard, the servant nodded and swiftly ran off. He soon felt his father stare, so he turned and was unsurprised to see him looking over at him. Walking over, he took the tankard from the servant and sat next to his father. "Are you pleased now?"

"It is for the best."

"You really think that? Look at the lives that have been ruined."

"If Loki truly loves that girl he should want her to have the best possible life, what better life is there than Queen and Allmother?"

"There is more to life than titles father. They love one another."

"Did they? Where is your brother today then? If he truly loved her he would have tried to bring her with him."

"You threatened to have her sent to Jötunheim, do you think him cruel enough to risk you being true to your word?" Thor growled.

"I only said that to deter him, nothing more, obviously she would not be sent there, she is a small enough thing, carrying your children will be task enough for her, a Frost Giant's offspring would kill her. Where is she?" The king looked around for his daughter in law.

"She has retired for the night."

Odin stared at his son furiously. "Get after her this instant."

"Father I…"

"Are you forgetting what you are expected to do?" The confusion on Thor's face was his answer. "You are to consummate your marriage."

Thor froze, he had been so angered by the way the day had gone that he forgot one of the more important aspects of it. He shook his head slightly before he rose to his feet. "This is wrong."

"You would swear you were the first prince in history to not wish to be wed. Look at your mother and I, we met the day of our wedding."

"Was she betrothed to your brother first? Did he own her heart?"

"Loki is gone, she will soon realise she has been gifted the better brother and will be grateful to be your wife." Odin dismissed. "If you do not find her to your liking, then just fill her with child tonight and not concern yourself with her again for some time."

Thor swallowed his anger and shot up from the table. His father's words infuriated him, but he also knew what was expected of him. He barely heard the wolf whistles from his friends that sounded after him as he left the room.

Kari swore to herself time and time again. All her belongings had been taken from her rooms and placed in Thor's. It was expected of her to sleep in the same bed as him; she also knew she was expected to lie with him in other manners. She really wished her conversation with him had not sobered her so greatly.

She heard the door open behind her. Turning, she knew who it would be. "He did not take long to order you here too."

"No." Thor's voice was sombre. "I don't even know if I can do this."

"We must."

"How are you alright with this? This is surely the hardest part."

"Actually it is the easiest. All I need to do is lie there. The most difficult part was declaring I love you and will never wish for another, when all I wish for is him."

Thor began to remove his armour. "This is not how I imagined my wedding night. I thought I would be thrilled at the idea of my wife and I…well you know."

"I am sorry. I have been wallowing in my own sorrow, when you too have been wronged. I always thought you would marry Lady Sif."

"Why has everyone always assumed that?" Thor asked.

Kari shrugged. "You always were so close, and it is clear she has feelings for you. I think she is the only one as gutted as us at how all this went."

Thor tried to process what she had said as he removed more of his armour quietly. Seeing that he was having an issue with a gauntlet, Kari went to his assistance. "I hate this armour."

"Then why wear it? It cannot be comfortable to battle in."

"It is decorative armour, not fight armour."

"There's a difference?"

Thor chuckled. "Yes, practicality being the biggest part." He explained as they finally got it off. "Thank you."

"Sure." She gave a small smile and went back to get her nightdress before heading to the bathroom. She looked at the garment for a moment and threw it on the floor. It was the one she had worn the night before, the one Loki had removed from her body with seidr before ravishing her entirely. All day her core ached from the pleasure she had felt, it was the only pain she had felt from him that day that had felt good. Opening the bathroom door again she went to get another nightdress, but stopped suddenly.

Thor was naked in front of the bed, staring back at her. He was the polar opposite to Loki in all ways, except for height. Where one was pale as the moon, hair like the nights sky, with lean muscles and eyes of emerald; the other was sun kissed, hair of the gold of the sun, eyes like a cloudless sky and bulging muscles. She would have thought no two brothers could ever be so opposite had she not seen it with her own eyes.

"I brought the wrong one." She tried to explain as she walked over to the wardrobe to get another nightdress.

Thor simply nodded as he too looked over her form. She had taken off the dress before realising her error, so she was only in her undergarments. She thought since she was being forced to share a bed with Thor, he would see her in that state of undress at some time of another, so she had simply just got on with it and had not thought to cover herself when she re-entered the room. Looking at the material in her hands she wondered why she was even bothering. She threw it on the floor and just got into the bed beside him.

The tension in the air was palpable, both knowing what needed to be done, but both terrified of being the one to initiate it. Still slightly tipsy from her overindulging, Kari turned to Thor and kissed him. It felt wrong, sordid. But she knew what had to happen so she just ignored the wrenching feeling in her gut.

Thor kissed her back, allowing himself to forget who it was that was in the bed with him. His hand went into her hair, with was still partly tied up, he pulled a pin and it fell loose again. He let his hand slide down her barely clothed body as he deepened the kiss. The small moan she gave when he bit her lip reminded him who it was but he forced himself to continue, it was their duty, the realm required a consummated marriage, and yes, as his father stated, it also required an heir.

Nothing of Thor's touch resembled his brothers. Loki's fingers were slender, their touches soft. Thor's were far larger, and his touch far more rough. They were as opposite as the brothers themselves. Deciding it best to get it over with, Kari pulled on Thor's arm so to get him to lean over her. He looked down at her slightly shocked. "Are you sure?"

"I just want to forget."

"I know Kari, I'm sorry."

"I want to forget him." She continued. Thor frowned. "If I do, then maybe I can do this."

"You're not going to Kari, you know that."

"Please, Thor." She kissed him again, her heart aching as she did. Every kissed reminded her of Loki, because every kiss with him had a spark, an excitement she could not contain, and Thor's kisses lacked any lustre.

Thor leant on one arm, bringing the other down so he could help at least have her comfortable as they coupled. He began to caress the nerves that were close to her core, looking at her as he did. She was incredibly beautiful, just as Loki had stated that first day they had met her, he had always acknowledged that. He felt her body react to him, and wondered if she in anyway found him as appealing. She loved Loki, she adored him, and the way he had seen her look at him suggested she also liked how he looked also, he and Loki looked nothing alike, so did she even find him attractive? He forced the thoughts from his mind concentrating instead on what he needed to do to prepare her. When he slid a finger in, she groaned slightly, but he continued as she did not give any indication to cease. He added a second and searched for her internal pleasure point.

Thor's fingers were far thicker than Loki's, but he was able to make her body react to him. However her mind would not let her forget Loki and their passionate love making not twenty four hours before, how they had held onto one another, knowing it would be their last time together, and their first time being intimate. She felt guilty that she could not love Thor the way he deserved from a wife; he deserved one that would yearn for his touch, not one who could only compare it to that of his brother.

When she had been readied, Thor leant over her fully again, looking straight into her eyes. "Tell me if I hurt you." She nodded silently. "I really wish it was not this way Kari."

"I know." She smiled sadly stroking his bearded face. "But it is, so we can only continue on."

It was Thor's turn to nod. Gently he pushed forward so that he was touching her core before slowing pushing in. He flinched as Kari grasped his biceps, her face showing her discomfort, but as she said nothing, he very slowly continued until he was fully seated within her. He ceased then, giving her time to adjust to him.

She did not want to, but Kari was still comparing Thor to Loki, and she hated herself for it. He was doing everything to not try and hurt her and all she kept doing was thinking how he was not Loki, how Loki was not as thick, but had filled her more. It made her feel guilty. Looking up, she realised Thor was looking at her expectantly. "I said, are you alright?" He repeated in concern. Kari nodded, looking up at him, she slid her arms around his neck again and moved her hips slightly so to suggest for him to move.

Slowly, Thor began to stir. It felt incredibly wonderful and wrong at the same time. He continued to increase the speed of his thrusts as he gave in to the pleasure he felt. He looked down at Kari's breasts, still constricted by her bra, but still moving slightly with their movements. He grunted as her body reacted to his movements, her own gasps adding to his pleasure.

Before long he gave over to his pleasure completely, forgetting that it was Loki's love that lay beneath him, it was made easier as her legs intertwined with his and she thrusted up to meet his movements. "God's!" He moaned as he felt his abdomen begin to clench.

Kari also gave over to the pleasure, she knew if she did, she would, for those few moments, forget about Loki, forget about the large gaping hole in her heart from his departure. Thor's movements caused her body to react, she did not have to force it and for that she was grateful. Thor's sounds told her he was close, when he reached between them again to where they were joined and gently pinched the small bundle of nerves, her back arched and she fell apart violently around him, her mouth agape as she shuddered. She barely registered Thor's final few more aggressive thrusts that signalled he had completed also, his seed now filling her as his brother's had the night before. With that thought, Kari found the sickening pang in her stomach grow worse. Has she just discarded everything she and Loki had had, or was she just doing as he had told her to and make best of her situation, she could not find the answer.

She was so lost in thought she never realised she was playing Thor's hair until he began to pull out of her. "Sorry." She pulled her hand back swiftly.

"Do not apologise, that was actually quite nice." He smiled, his breathe still not back fully. "I can fight for an age without losing my breath, but that winded me somewhat." He commented.

"Sorry."

Thor crashed onto the bed beside her. "Why are you apologising Kari? All you have done today is apologise."

"Sorry."

He raised a brow. "Get some rest." He ordered. "You need to try and sleep off the last of that wine and your sorrow."

"It was mead actually."

"Oh dear, well at least your head will not ache so badly then."

"And what of you?"

"I fear that amount of ale will mean a tender stomach for me in the morn. Why do we do these abuses to ourselves?" He wondered.

"To forget." Kari whispered, but Thor heard her. Not entirely sure if it was the right thing to do, he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her. Even though it was not the embrace she was looking for, Kari moved into it willingly, wanting to be held, needing to feel close to someone.

As she slept Thor looked at his new wife beside him, if she had not been chosen for Loki first, he believed he could have been the one to have her love, she was beautiful, caring and kind, and he would have loved her as she deserved to be. Even in her sleep she frowned, her beautiful lips pouting as she did. He looked over her body as she curled into him, and it was then he noticed something inside her bra, a piece of paper. He gently slid it out and looked at it, he knew the writing to be Loki's, and as soon as he read it he felt a twinge of guilt. She had held Loki's parting words over her heart, so he placed it back there, and held her close to him again. If only they had been destined for one another from the start, then his brother would still be here, and none of them would be hurting and perhaps she would love him too.