I do not own Avengers or any of the characters. That all belongs to Disney and the talented late Stan Lee. I only own my OC, her parents and other characters I make up along the way.
Star Gazers
Chapter 17: The Reluctant Princess
Rosalie stepped into her bath which was waiting in front of the fire.
The perfection of her slender figure with its fair skin made her look like a young goddess.
She released her auburn red balayage brown hair from the last remaining pins that had not been dislodged while riding, and it fell over her shoulders reaching nearly to her waist.
It was a colour which drew every man's eyes when she entered a room.
Deep red, it was highlighted with streaks of gold brown which appeared to ripple through it and shine tantalisingly, so that no-one was able exactly to describe it.
Rosalie's hair was a heritage from her father and he often said that 'red hair ran like wine' in the Breisgau family.
But she had her mother's eyes and Lady Andrea came from a long line of Irish nobility.
The O'Derrys had been Earls of Ireland for generations and it was always said that the dark lashes which framed their blue eyes were a legacy from a Spanish ancestor.
He had, according to legend, been swept up on the South coast of Ireland from one of the wrecked galleons of the Spanish Armada and had married the pretty daughter of his captor.
The combination of auburn red balayage brown hair and blue eyes made Rosalie inevitably the object of attention. And it would have been a blind man who could resist the enticement of her smile or the way her laugh would ring out making everyone want to laugh with her.
Rosalie washed herself she lay back in the bath, feeling her stiffness ease away in the warm water.
She silently thought of what she had learned previously.
Her real identity was Emeryn Odinsdottir; a Princess of Asgard as well as the second born of King Odin and Queen Frigga.
That was her true identity.
Never in her whole time, Rosalie expected to learn that she was a reincarnation of a being that was a member of the Asgardian Royal Family.
Upon coming to Asgard with Thor, she so far gotten a warm welcome.
Just being a princess was something that she had to get used to.
Odin ordered a feast to happen at night as a celebration for the return of his long lost daughter.
So of course it included Thor making a speech to praise for having his little sister back and looking forward to the battles that they will face together.
Fortunately that seemed to serve as speech enough and everyone turned excitedly to the bounty before them.
Soon the banquet room was filled with a cacophony of banging plates and jolly conversation, everyone eating and drinking and chatting among themselves.
As Rosalie washed herself with warm water, she glanced at the Xiphos, also known as the Sword of the Stars, that was near the bath tub.
This legendary sword now belonged to her and was for her to use in upcoming battles.
After her relaxing bath, Rosalie placed on a periwinkle blue nightgown before making her way to her bed.
It was a grandiose red bed with semi-transparent teal and yellow hanging cloths. It also had matching red and gold pillows.
Rosalie placed herself underneath the covers of the bed, immediately liking how soft and warm it was.
She then glanced at the view outside which was a multitude of twinkling lights against the night sky.
Living so long in New York, she could not remember the last time she had seen real stars.
It was like the metropolis upside down with empty darkness below and a vast array of lights above.
A faint smile appeared on Rosalie's face.
Today had been a festive day, but she could tell tomorrow begins the real hard work as a princess.
The moment Rosalie closed her eyes, she drifted into a deep sleep.
A bit of sweat poured down from Rosalie's forehead as she gripped the Xiphos tightly in her left hand.
She was having a practice match against Thor in one of the sparring rooms under Frigga's watchful eyes.
Rosalie gripped Xiphos tightly before it clashed against Thor's Mjølnir causing white gold sparks to burst out a bit in the process.
Thor and Rosalie then were pushed back, but each of them kept their balance as their boots rubbed on the ground.
"That's enough for today."Frigga declared.
Rosalie stabbed Xiphos on the ground causing her battle armour to disappear and be replaced with the attire she had placed on in the mirror.
She now wore a lavender purple dress with golden straps, a long skirt with the hem ending just above her orange-sandalled feet and two purple sashes; a tight one under her bust and a loosened one tied at her right side by a golden spiral pendant around her hips. Her auburn red balayage brown hair was tied into a high ponytail with curly fringes on its tip.
Thor gives Rosalie a smile.
"You did well, sister."Thor praised.
An awkward chuckle escaped from Rosalie's mouth.
"Yes."Rosalie answered."Though I actually more the one with used to wielding guns and knives than an ancient sword."
Frigga went over to Thor and Rosalie.
"Don't doubt yourself, dear."Frigga assured kindly."You are worthy to wield the Sword of Stars. You just have to believe yourself that you can."
Rosalie looked unsure of her past mother's words, but then she nodded, knowing she was right.
"Umm…mother, may I have a word with you?"Rosalie requested.
"Of course, dear."Frigga replied.
Rosalie gives Thor a smile before she and Frigga headed off out the sparring room.
Once she notice that she and the Queen of Asgard were at one of the palace's many balconies that had no one but themselves, Rosalie began talking to Frigga.
"What is it you wanted to talk about, Emeryn?"Frigga asked.
The first thing Rosalie wanted to say is tell her mother to call her by her actual name, but immediately realised that wasn't important and decided to tell her something else.
"Before I tell you it, can you please promise to keep it a secret between you and me?"Rosalie suggested.
A surprised look appeared on Frigga.
"Of course, dear."Frigga replied.
Rosalie took a deep breath before she let it out and started speaking to the Queen of Asgard.
"When I was a teenager, I…I was sort of rebellious and never got along with my Midgard mother during that time."Rosalie admitted."One day, I met someone and I fell in love with him."
"That is wonderful, darling."Frigga remarked.
"But our relationship wasn't serious, but I…we…"Rosalie started.
Rosalie paused herself from talking and looked down as a pink blush appeared on her face.
"It's alright, Emeryn."Frigga assured."Tell me."
Rosalie looked back at Frigga.
"Let me explain more clearly."Rosalie suggested, trying to be calm."On Midgard, young love can be so exhilarating and so intense. All those feelings rushing around inside of you. And I was told many times by my past mother, being a young lady comes with many gifts. Your virtue, for example, is a gift, a precious gift. Possibly the most precious gift you possess. You want to give this gift very carefully. It is a gift you can give to only one man. Once you give it, it's gone. You can't regift it. If you give it away too soon to the wrong man, then when the right one does come along, you have no gift to give. But the truth is I-"
Frigga held Rosalie's shaking hands, giving them a gentle squeeze.
"I understand."Frigga answered.
"You are not mad?"Rosalie questioned, mixed with a hint of worry.
"We all do mistakes, Emeryn."Frigga admitted."Here in Asgard, the women here are not so different. We fell in love, we get our hearts broken and eventually sometimes we find the man that is worthy to have us."
"Will you still keep this a secret between us?"Rosalie suggested.
Frigga nodded and gently touched Rosalie's cheek.
"Yes."Frigga replied."I promise."
Tears of joy appeared on Rosalie's face before she hugged Frigga.
"Thank you."Rosalie thanked with a grateful smile."Thank you so much."
Frigga embraced Rosalie back while gently stroking her hair.
The Queen of Asgard felt feelings of relief and anxiety coming from her long-lost daughter, realising things have been a bit hard for her growing up.
Then again, she and Odin had missed a lot.
So there was still many things that they had to learn about their daughter.
Rosalie dried away her tears as Frigga gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
"Feeling better now?"Frigga asked.
"Yes."Rosalie replied with a nod."Thank you, mother."
"How about we go have dinner now?"Frigga suggested."Even a warrior princess needs to fill her empty stomach."
Rosalie chuckled at Frigga's respond.
"Okay."Rosalie replied with a nod.
Friends laughed, kids played and warriors recounted their many victorious battles.
At one particular pub, Thor and the Warriors Three were holding court, with Volstagg as the master of ceremonies and the master of storyteller, even if his stories intended to be somewhat exaggerated and partly fabricated.
Still, his yarns kept everyone entertained, particularly his wife and children, who were on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear how they had escaped the latest death trap and insudtomantle odds.
Rosalie stood by herself, listening in the background and held a goblet of water in her hands.
The part-time historian was soon accompanied by Lady Sif.
"Is every night like this?"Rosalie asked curiously.
Lady Sif shook her head.
"All the time."Lady Sif answered and glanced at Thor."Though there was a time when every battle came down to me and your brother. Back to back, fighting for each other."
"Do you like Thor, Lady Sif?"Rosalie asked with a small smirk.
"More than a friend."Lady Sif admitted."But something tells me, his thoughts and heart are on a certain woman from where you come from."
Rosalie became quiet, knowing the fearsome Asgardian warrior was talking about Jane Foster.
"So it's true what the people are saying about Loki?"Rosalie asked."Will he be imprisoned for eternity?"
A scoff escaped from Lady Sif's mouth.
"Well, he has committed crimes on both Asgard and Midgard."Lady Sif informed."And he doesn't have remorse on what he has done. But I think punishment with violence would only feed his desire for revenge and make him more dangerous than ever."
Rosalie took a sip from her goblet before she continued speaking again to Lady Sif.
"He wasn't always like this wasn't he?"Rosalie assumed."Fri-I mean my mother said he was alway overshadowed by my father and brother's physical prowess, so she trained him in magic, believing that this would give her adoptive son his own ground to stand on next to Thor."
"Those were different times. Me and the Warriors Three all considered Loki a close friend when we all thought of him as Odin's second son."Lady Sif complemented with a small frown."But now he is beyond redemption."
There was now utter silence between Rosalie and Lady Sif before the two women looked back at the celebration in front of them.
Rosalie thought herself of being utterly crazy as she secretly made her to the Asgardian Dungeons in the dead of night.
There were a few guards about, but she miraculously was able to convince them that she just wanted to speak to the madman responsible for the crimes on Earth during the Chitauri Invasion and try to make him admit his own faults.
That respond was not actually true due to something else being on Rosalie's mind.
When the young woman passed several cells, she arrived to his cell.
There she saw Loki laying down on the bed of his prison cell, reading a book.
Rosalie refused the urge to roll her eyes when she saw the same annoying smug smirk grow on Loki's face when his eyes moved from the pages of the book he was reading to look at her.
"Hello, Agent Breisgau."Loki greeted."Though you would rather I call you, Odinsdottir?"
"Did you know I really was when you first saw me, Loki?"Rosalie demanded, her voice sounding firm yet irritated at the same time.
"Would ever do you mean, darling?"Loki asked casually.
A sudden smirk appeared on Rosalie's face.
"That I was your precious long lost adopted sister?"Rosalie asked."Now that I think about it. It sounds a little bit more like incest."
Loki simply scowled as he simply shut his book and raised up from his bed.
"Oh, please."Loki retorted."You may be Odin's supposed-to-be-dead spawn that have been reincarnated, but you know nothing about being royalty."
"At least, I know I don't need to earn respect by trampling over others that can't even defend themselves."Rosalie shot back.
Rosalie didn't move a muscle as Loki went over to her, but the space between them was blocked by the prison's cell golden barrier.
"Regardless if you learned your true parentage, you are still a mortal and I have power over you without that sword that awakened your powers."Loki informed.
His gaze was attentive, his tone and the faint smirk about his lips were mocking.
"That's a pretty bold statement coming from someone who got beaten up by the Hulk."Rosalie sneered.
For a moment, Loki's face fell at the unpleasant memory of the Hulk throwing him around like a rag doll.
There were times when Rosalie wished she could have recorded the whole thing.
Her fellow Avengers and Earth relatives would be laughing their heads off at that video.
"I should definitely praise Bruce for being confronted by a self declared God and of course immediately tested that claim and found it to be...lacking in credibility."Rosalie remarked in amusement and raised an eyebrow."Tell me, Loki. What hurt more during that time? Your pride? Or your choices in life?"
Loki glared at Rosalie with an irritated look.
"What are you here for?"Loki questioned.
"Just wanted to see how you are doing despite being imprisoned like a zoo animal."Rosalie admitted with a hint of sarcasm before coming serious."You know back on Earth, there are people that believe Asgardians are insane because of what you did."
"Are you clarifying that the humans can't be insane, Agent Breisgau?"Loki snarled."A small group of killers and thieves, no better than the rest, leading a blind herd while claiming to champion truth and equality?"
Rosalie shook her head.
"Yes, Loki. There are some people like that."Rosalie replied simply."As an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, I have made my hands get dirtied with blood and can't wipe it out. But here in Asgard, it's not so different. Warriors fight, slaughter and some how come out as victorious in the aftermath."
"Then what are you now after wielding that precious sword?"Loki questioned with a smirk."Do you consider yourself now an Asgardian? Or still a Midgardian?"
A slight frown appeared on Rosalie's face.
"I consider myself half-Midgardian and half-Asgardian."Rosalie admitted with her arms folded."I am biologically born from two realms."
Loki smiled slightly at what Rosalie just said.
"Of course you are, my dear."Loki remarked."That's what makes you more interesting."
Rosalie simply huffed at Loki before making her way out of the Asgardian Dungeons to go back to the palace to avoid getting possible unwanted attention.
And here wraps up our chapter for the day.
We are getting close to Thor: The Dark World events.
See you all in the next chapter and have a wonderful day!