Choices

Chapter 126
"I'm surprised Odin allowed Thor to just leave Asgard. I mean, he is the only heir to the throne." Seraphina said to Jane. Thor had been in a hurry to clear up what happened to Loki so that Cephera could find closure. He'd left immediately and asked Jane to stay at the tower until his return.
Somehow, Seraphina doubted her Cephera would ever believe Loki was dead. The elder twin was confused by her sisters decision to not accept it. Loki had chosen to let go of Thor's hand when he fell into the void. He didn't mention Cephera at the time, why would he now?
Seraphina always found that odd. It was clear he cared for his wife, so why did he leave her without so much as a goodbye. Did he know he'd live when he fell?
"Thor feels that he can better aide the nine realms from here. He feels less pressure on Earth." Jane replied. Seraphina didn't hate Jane, but they had little in common. Seraphina was just forcing conversation because her sister was just sitting there quietly.
"Probably better off. At least this way you don't have to worry about breaking the rules in Asgard by going there. Not to mention the issues if he tried to make you queen of Asgard." Seraphina scratched her head. "I mean, for one I doubt Odin would allow Thor a divorce. Although, I would think that if Thor became king he'd initiate his own divorce, even if it meant making a lot of people angry." She frowned.
"Hold on, Thor's married!" Jane's voice rose in complete surprise and Seraphina froze. For once she felt awkward.
"I thought he'd have told you," she said. Cephera had finally come to look at them. Her hand massaging her head at the situation.
"No, he didn't." The mortal seemed very upset over the news.
"They aren't together any more. Not emotionally. It's like a married couple here being separated and going their separate ways." Cephera pipped up to tame the fire.
"He could have told me." Jane stood from the armchair abruptly and stalked away.
"Really?" Cephera gave Seraphina an unhappy look.
"I hadn't any idea she didn't know. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Some relationships don't work, he should have told her." Seraphina replied shaking her head. "Sometimes I wonder if Thor really has grown up and gotten passed it."
"When Thor gets back he's not going to be happy with you." Cephera warned.
"Oh poor cry baby. Boo hoo, you told my new girlfriend I'm married before I did." Seraphina made fun of Thor and reclined in her chair. "Screw him. I bet he had time to fuck Jane, but apparently not enough to have a decent chat with her beforehand."
"Seraphina," Cephera chided looking around to see if anyone had heard her.
"Tell me you don't agree?" The elder twin challenged the younger. Seraphina knew very well Cephera agreed, she just wasn't as vocal about it.
Like Seraphina predicted, her sister didn't reply. "Think about it, what if Jane, in the back of her head, thought that she had a chance to marry Thor. For a woman like her it wouldn't be about being a queen. No matter her reasons she wouldn't have been able to." Seraphina continued.
"Yeah," Cephera muttered agreement and stood. "I need to cool off. It's hot today," she said staring out the glass window toward the pool. They were lounging in the common room on the opposite side of the building. Tony had a beautiful pool that was half indoors and the rest outside. It looked like it dropped off the side of the building but that was just an illusion.
"Now that sounds better than worrying about what happens between Jane and the boy Prince." Seraphina clapped her hands together and rubbed them.
"Swimming does sound nice." Natasha Romanov spoke up. She must have just walked in. Seraphina looked the red head up and down. She was extremely pleasing to the eye, Fandral would most likely agree.
Truthfully, it had been a long time since she had partaken in intimate acts with a woman. After Sif, Seraphina found herself with Fandral more times than not and then she got pregnant. Their life had been a whirlwind and her apatite for variety had seemed to dwindle.
Agent Romanov relit that fire from the second Seraphina laid eyes on her. She wondered if the spy was into that sort of thing. She'd quickly find out. Unlike her sister, Seraphina had no problems making her intentions known.
"We didn't hear you come in." Cephera told Natasha.
"I'm good at that," Natasha replied. Natasha had seemed to treat Cephera with a little disdain when she'd first arrived, but it hadn't lasted long. As it turned out, Cephera hadn't been the only one keeping secrets and hers hadn't been the biggest secret either.
"How goes everything? Must be difficult for you after what happened with SHIELD." When Natasha Romanov arrived at Stark tower it hadn't been for a simple hello. Things had turned to shit within SHIELD.
That had been what was happening when Cephera had escaped. Apparently, a second corporation had been working within SHIELD for many years and called themselves HYDRA.
It was a shit storm. All SHIELD agents were scattered. SHIELD itself seemed disbanded or at the very least leaderless. The worst part of all was the not knowing who could be trusted and who was working for this new enemy.
Seraphina was happy her sister got out when she did and took as much information with her as possible. Erasing it from their systems, though it was possible it had been back up. Luckily, Cephera hadn't been there long enough to fill them with too much information.
"It's been worse," the spy looked as though she meant it and Seraphina was curious as to what could be considered worse. Still, she left the topic alone. Natasha had come to Stark Tower to recruit Tony to help find and take down HYDRA's leader.
For now, it was time to relax.
Together they all went different ways to find something suitable for the pool. Tony insisted that, as hot as it would be to see a bunch of naked women in his pool, Pepper would not be impressed and so a swim suit was a must.
One day, Seraphina might have to show Pepper how to have a little fun and relax. The task might be hard, but one the princess was more than willing to take on. She loved a good challenge.
They met back at the pool and slipped in. Cephera had reverted back to her thoughtful mode and Seraphina wondered if she was considering the possibility that Loki really was dead.
She left her sister to her thoughts and followed Natasha in laps back and forth. What once was some well needed exercise, turned into a race.
By the end, two of them were hanging on to the edge of the pool panting for air. "You know," Seraphina started to say between breaths. "If you ever... need to let off steam, my room is always open." She made sure her tone conveyed exactly what she meant.
Natasha Romanov stared at her for a second before a smirk crossed her lips.
(Thor)
"Back so soon, my son?" Odin said as Thor entered the throne room. Repairs had been made and Thor would have never thought that it had been under attack only a few days ago.
"Yes, father. I informed Princess Cephera of Loki's passing," he began and much to his disdain, Tyr interrupted.
"After our wise words to stay your tongue on the matter." He chided.
Thor ignored the old advisor. In this matter he knew nothing of what was right. "And how is she?" Odin inquired his posturing straightening.
"She does not believe it. She insists that I come back to confirm his body was indeed found and that he is, in fact, deceased." Thor licked his lips a nervous feeling bubbling in his belly.
What if the body wasn't found? That didn't mean Loki was alive. Anything could have happened to it.
"You told an already upset woman that her husband was dead while she still mourned the loss of the Queen whom she saw as close to her mother as anyone could come." Tyr tisked. "Of course she doesn't believe you, she is in denial." Odin raised a hand to silence his advisor which Thor was thankful for. He was in no mood for this man's shoddy advice today.
"We did not recover Loki's remains. The winds and sandstorms on Svartalfheim had been too heavy." His father confirmed what Thor had dreaded to hear.
"Then how will I make her believe?" Thor asked.
"Some people never let go, son. When she is ready she will find her own peace with it, until then you can only support her as a brother might do." Odin replied. "I take it that this means you have not come home to stay." He added.
"No father." Thor replied.
"I wish I could change your mind," Odin said. Thor had no answer, he gave his respectful bow to his father and left the room.
Outside he traversed the hallway with the intention of going home when he was stopped by a dark haired noblewoman. "Prince Thor, a moment of your time if you will," she said politely.
"I'm sorry, I have things that need doing." Thor replied assuming the woman was seeking sex.
She grabbed his arm as he made to pass, her grip tighter than he'd imagined. "It's about your brother," she whispered with a quick glance around.
Thor looked her in her brown eyes and saw no lies or deceit within her gaze. "Quickly," he said and followed her far from the throne room.
They entered an empty bedroom, the decor simple yet elegant. Thor's stomach dropped as he wondered if he might have been tricked after all. He watched her close the door and to his surprise she uttered a spell against the wood before turning to look at him. "My name is Suvia, and I have a tale it tell you." She said offering him to take a seat.
Curiosity won out and his urge to get back to Earth fled. He sat down and began to listen to her tale. With every word of her story Thor felt a mixture of anger and shock coarse through him. For a while he hardly believed anything she was saying could be true and yet he wanted to believe it.
It would make so many things of their past make sense and at this point in his life, he could use some clarity.

Notes