Choices

Chapter 72
"The throne room is bannered, the dance hall and dining area filled with flowers, the food is being prepared and you're here, not even dressed yet." Frigga wasn't angry, she was, indeed, smiling.
"I had to make sure they have everything for tonight. It is going to be a long night." Cephera replied. She finished Jör's bath, given Hela her warning, and washed Fenrir, who'd been given permission to join them. The last few days he'd been given his first chance at roaming the halls on his own.
At first the palace people were weary of him, but soon he had proven to big a big fluffy puppy. The children liked to play with him out in the yard. Jör was due to be moved to his new accommodation the day after and Hela was getting her very own room, despite her attitude.
"I'll be back to check on them. Today is for you and Loki. The people are ready to celebrate the news of your future marriage and I will not see you weary before the day's end." Frigga pointed to the door for her to get moving. Cephera sighed with a nod, stroked Jör's long face goodbye and waved to Hela, who ignored her.
Fenrir's claws scraped the floor as he followed behind them. The guards opened one of the doors and Fenrir grunted as he struggled to pull his large hips through. He was growing wider by the day, there was no telling how big he would be in another months time.
He finally squeezed through and Cephera followed Frigga to her private rooms where her dress was hanging ready to be put on, but first Frigga did her hair as she often did.
When Frigga was finished, Cephera had a half up coif with a ribbon of green running through. The rest of her hair tightly curled and bouncing against the back of her shoulder blades. The dress hugged her small waist. Layered of cloth hung in rings down in front of the chest, no sleeves. It flowed to the floor and cut off just the right height for dancing without tripping. The colors of gold and green, picked out by Loki.
Cephera seldom wore dark colors and so the new contrast was welcomed. Loki showed up while she was slipping into her shoes. They had a two inch heels, the colors of black and gold with a strap across. "You look beautiful, as always." Loki told her kissing her.
"You don't look too bad yourself." She grinned. He wore a tunic of green and gold beneath a black leather over coat that hung just above his knees. His pants also black with gold strips up the sides. He had newly crafted pieces of armor across his shoulder and near his hip. A gift his father had ordered crafted for this day before he'd gone off to see to his army.
Frigga had given him the gift the night before and Loki had sobered a little from his anger at his father's absence.
"As beautiful as you are my dear, I cannot deny that my mother equals the vision." He complemented turning to Frigga.
"Always the charmer." She smiled and embraced him. "I've hoped this day would happen for longer than even the two of you have." She told him and glanced at Cephera who knew all too well how the queen felt about them as a couple. Her support had been what kept Cephera hopeful all those years when Loki didn't notice her as more than a friend.
"Ready to depart?" He offered an arm to his mother and the other to Cephera. They each took a side and made their way to the throne room where people where gathering for the announcement that would be followed by the party.
***
When they reached the throne room the proceedings there were quick, after all is wasn't as if they were performing the marriage ceremony today.
"On this day I am pleased to announce the engagement of my son, Loki Odinson, to the Princess Cephera Drogo of Mechanova." The Queen declared all bright eyed and proud.
The crowd that had gathered cheered. "I invite you all to join us in the celebration of this news. A feast has been prepared before you enjoy dancing, and drinks for the remainder of the night." She added.
More cheers erupted, though if Cephera listened closely they cheered louder for the party than the engagement. She couldn't blame them. An engagement could easily be broken and a wedding never to happen. They were not holding their breaths for an uncertain future.
From there the queen led the crowd to the dining hall. Every table available was set up, the room was huge. Everyone found a seat and enjoyed the food offered. Cephera sat chatting to Loki who sat on her right and the queen who took place at her left. Her sister was sat next to the queen and Fandral had placed himself beside her.
She was picking at her food tonight. Fandral had told Cephera that Seraphina had gotten angry with herself for overeating and using the pregnancy as an excuse. Now it would seem her sister was contemplating not eating at all.
'Eat, you can't starve yourself.' Cephera chided her wordlessly through their rings.
'I am eating, I'm just taking my time.' Her sister countered and as if to prove it she shoved a fork full of some kind of salad in her mouth. Only half satisfied Cephera turned her attention to Fenrir, who was nudging her a little.
When she'd sat down his head reached almost to her shoulders and he could see perfectly over the table. "You want more?" She asked him.
"Please, oh please!" He told her and she collected a few different things from the table to feed him. He had been given his own, extra large plate of food which was gone. He wouldn't eat the food fed to the regular hounds of the palace. He seemed to want and need basic food like she and Loki would eat.
He waited patiently, well as patiently as he could with his tail swishing and thudding against the wall behind them, for her to lay the plate on the floor. No sooner had she slipped her hand away, his snout was buried in the potatoes and beef side of the plate.
"He's going to be too round to fit through the doors soon enough," Loki said frowning.
"His entire body grows both taller and rounder each day. He needs enough food to keep himself healthy." She reminded him leaning over to give a quick kiss to his shoulder. He stopped her when she moved to sit back up straight and kissed her forehead first, smiling.
***
Somehow, Fenrir had made Loki into a woman magnet. Cephera had never expected so many women to go from petting Fenrir to their father looking for a dance. Cephera didn't mind however, she trusted Loki with all her heart. Loki obliged the dances out of curtesy for tradition, he didn't want both brothers looking to be sour.
Thor was being an asshole if there ever was one. He addressed Cephera only when he needed to and hadn't the decency to even congratulate them like everyone else. Cephera had removed her shoes long ago, her feet aching. She took a breather to get something to drink.
"Before you know it one of them will be with child." As if his ears burned at her thoughts, Thor was stood behind her. Cephera turned and glared.
"Loki isn't like you Thor, he's loyal." She replied getting sick of his attitude.
"And if you're wrong? Will you leave him? It would be the better thing to do, why not now while you still have no commitment such as marriage to keep you." He smelled of mead. His hair was disheveled and perfumes wafted off him like sweat.
"What would you know of commitment within a marriage." Cephera retorted and watched Thor's face turn red with anger. "I'll never leave him." Cephera promised leaning closer so that their argument stayed low from everyone else's ears.
"You don't deserve him." Thor growled, clutching his cup in his hand harder.
"I deserve him and his love more than you do. You would think if you loved him as a brother should that you would find happiness in his choice and show him your support." Cephera poked her finger at Thor's chest. He was going too far. What should have been a happy day was becoming a nightmare.
As annoyed as she was at Thor for acting as he was, she would have been able to ignore it and have a good time if he'd just kept his words to himself. Maybe he was the one actually sending all the girl over in hopes of making Cephera jealous.
Thor grabbed her hand, squeezing it in warning. "Do not lay a hand on me." He warned.
"Then keep your sour opinions to yourself." Cephera warned in kind. Thor tossed her hand away and stalked off. After taking a moment to inhale a few sharp breaths, she turned her eyes back to Loki who was looking rather annoyed at the woman who was treading all over his feet. She looked drunk, her cheeks red and blotchy as she stumbled over herself.
Loki looked over at Cephera and gave her a distressed look, she smiled in amusement but didn't rescue him.
"I hate parties," her sister said as she walked up to her.
"You love parties, you just hate not being able to drink." Cephera pointed out.
"Okay fine, I hate THIS party. I swear at your wedding I'll be the drunkest of them all." She refined her answer. "I overheard you and Thor." She added.
"By overheard I assume you mean you stopped to listen." Cephera eyed her sister with a knowing look.
"Same thing." Seraphina waved of Cephera's observation. "He's being a dick, I might need to remind him of his place again. Since the return of Loki with those children he seems to have developed a new attitude, and trust me no one likes it."
"I'm not sure a chat from you will help this time, your my sister and I'm the one he has a problem with." Cephera frowned. She couldn't understand why Thor turned on her so easily.
"He thinks you're a bad influence on Loki. Like you force him into things he doesn't want to do or be. He believes that you curse Loki by allowing the kids to live and by taking care of them. Thor wants his brother away from all the rumors. Thor, oddly enough, cares about Loki in his own odd way. He wants to protect him because Loki has always been the black sheep and all this stuff with his children sets him apart from all other Asgardians." Seraphina explained.
"I am not the reason those children exist." Cephera pouted.
"No, but you're the reason they are alive." Seraphina sighed. "Thor just needs to realize that Loki has to find his own way in life."
"Hmmm, I suppose so." Cephera replied and looked back to Loki who was dancing with another woman. This one much more capable of dancing and she was beautiful, but Loki wasn't looking at her, he was glancing at Cephera and smiling. She returned his smiles. If he hadn't noticed her angry exchange with Thor she wouldn't tell him and ruin his night.
"You've been away from the dance floor for too long. It's tradition for the newly appointed to-be-wed couple to share a dance with any looking for one, while they are still free to do so." Fandral had swooped in and took Cephera's hand.
Cephera had spent most of the night doing as Loki was doing and dancing with the men. Loki hadn't seemed too pleased, but he'd kept his cool. He trusted her, he just didn't like other men touching her. It wouldn't be her first dance with Fandral, but he seemed to sense the growing distress and had come to liberate them from it.
Grateful for the distraction, she followed him easily and began their dance.

Notes