Tonight

"Tonight, my friends, we celebrate" Odin's voice commanded the attention of the people in the room "tonight we celebrate in the name of my daughter! Nefie, though your mother and I may not have birthed you we are honoured just the same to have you as our daughter"
I smiled making eye contact with my father as he spoke
"It seems like only yesterday you were that crying baby on Midguard, alone on the street, hidden by the wreckage! Those days of war hold very few fond memories, but bringing you here, making you apart of our family, is the best memory I have"
He smiled at me as a tear rolled down my cheek
"Fandral!" He turned his attention to the man next to me "you are taking from me one of my most precious possessions! Treat her well or you will have myself and my sons to answer to" he motioned to Thor and Loki standing beside him, they all smiled "but if it is you she loves, then you shall have her! Tonight we celebrate the engagement of Fandral and Nefie!"
The room erupted in applause and screaming.



I laid in bed that night, alone in the darkness, and thought of the story that my father had always told me.

"...and once the damage was done we walked the streets. The anger and rage hung in the air as we made our way through the wreckage. We all regretted what it had come to, no one more than myself, but at the time is seemed unavoidable. There were so many losses, so many fatalities, that they littered the streets and allies. I felt that nothing had been accomplished, that all the fighting had been for nothing. I had just become king of Asgard as my father, your grandfather Bor, had just retired from the throne. I felt a failure. With our heads hung low we gathered together, the few that were left of us, and headed for the gateway to the bifrost. Just as we gave up all hope for a happy ending a cry erupted from the ally we had been walking down. We searched for the origin of the sound and, after moving several large rocks, I found a small baby crying and reaching for someone to comfort it. I picked up the infant and, knowing her parents were dead or had fled, I took her with me. I took her as my daughter and she became a beautiful little princess."
My father would ruffle my hair, ending the story on a good note, and I would scream in laughter. My mother would chuckle from the doorway and then they would both kiss my forehead and tell me to sleep well.

I smiled at the memory, thinking of how far I had come and how lucky I had been. My parents, King and Queen of Asgard, had never hidden from me my true identity. I had always know that I was from Midguard and that they were not my parents by birth. This affected me very little as a young girl, I had lots of friends and a wonderful childhood. Neither of my brothers ever judged me for being from a different realm, if anything, it made them more protective. Thor and Loki had always been the best of brothers and Mother and Father the best of parents. I had always doubted that I would have had half as great a life if my real parents had survived the war.
And now, here I was, engaged to be married to one of my brother’s best friends. A warrior and a wonderful man. Fandral and I had become something of an item in our late teenage years. Thor had had a very close group of friends. Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and himself. They were to do great things. Loki quickly found that he was not interested in being a part of this group, favouring a good book. But the 7 of us were good friends none the less. And so Fandral and I met on one of Thor's grand adventures. When we were young, however, all 7 of us, including Loki, were quite chummy.



In the courtyard, where we would always play, Volstagg roared headed for Hogan. We couldn't have been more than 5 or 6, but playing battle was our favourite. Hogan and Volstagg crashed their wooden swords together.
"I can't hold him off" Hogan called
After a moment Volstagg turned towards myself and Sif. He made a run for us and we screamed trying to out run him. It didn't take him long to catch up with us and take us both by the wrists.
"Thor, the princesses!" Fandral yelled. He attempted to fight Volstagg off but was unsuccessful. He took us both and retreated back over the large 'void', a crack in the concrete paving, trapping us from our friends.
"What will we do?" Thor questioned
"We must save the princesses" Loki stated
"Hogan and I will hold our position" Fandral started
"And Loki and I will save the girls" Thor finished the plan.
With that they turned to face us, four in a line. Sif and I looked at each other and giggled. Thor and Loki turned to each other and nodded. With angry screams they jumped over the 'void'. Thor headed for Sif and Loki for me. Grabbing our hands we jumped back over to our friends, but we weren't safe yet, Volstagg had followed us. Sif and I stood back as the four boys tried to slain the beast. Wooden swords were crashing and before long Fandral had had his arm 'cut off'. He retreated back with Sif and I and we fawned over him, feeling bad for the brave warrior as he lay in our laps. Thor had managed to cut an arm and a leg off of Volstagg the beast, but he used the last of his energy to stab Loki through his back. Loki took the sword under his arm, and as Volstagg fell to the ground Loki turned to us. He fell backwards onto the ground, clutching his chest.
"Noooo" I yelled and ran to his side "Loki" I brushed his growing black hair from his face
He coughed "Nefie?" He whispered
"Yes Loki, I’m here" I replied
"I feel cold"
"It's ok my darling, you will be alright, do not worry" I placed my hand on his cheek
"Valhala will welcome me"
He reached his hand to cover mine "Nefie, I....I...." And with that he closed his eyes and his body became limp
"NOOOOOO!" Thor yelled out into the now darkening sky
We all hung our heads and were silent...

"Dinner time children" my mother called and we all rushed, laughing, into the banquet hall where a party would be happening and our families were sitting waiting for us.



"What plagues your mind?" A soothing voice asked from the dark corner of the room
"The memories of small children playing in the courtyard" I chuckled
He moved from the corner to sit next to me on the couch in the dark room lit only by the open fire
"Fond memories, I hope?"
"Yes" I twisted a piece of hair between my fingers
I snapped out of my daze
"maybe you are getting too old for it, but your skills for sneaking around do not allude me the way they did as children"
"Or maybe you just know me all too well" he chuckled
"Oh Loki" I sighed "what happened to those small children, their ignorance and care free attitude"
I turned to him and watched him stare at the fire. The flames danced in his eyes
"All children must grow" he turned to me
"But why?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his bicep, cuddling into his side
"Well, I suppose the reason is order. The realms might be a bit chaotic if we were all children" he kissed the top of my head "but do not worry Nefie, you are young still! And you are a princess! You will wed Fandral and have a glorious life together, just as you always wanted"
I sighed and replied slowly "yes"
He pulled himself away from me so he could look at me "this is what you want, is it not?" his brows furrowed in concern
"Yes! Well, I mean! I always wanted to fall in love, with a great man, someone who would protect me, someone who would love me...I just, courting and being engaged are two very different things" I sighed, defeated
He nodded, but kept silent, he could say so much without a word
"I just feel like marrying Fandral will be the first normal thing I've ever done"
"Normal?" He asked
"Well, it's no secret that I am Midguardian and while nobody points it out there's some obvious differences" I looked down at my hands
He took my hand into his "Nefie, we have talked of this before, you are not different and we all care for you"
His words, however comforting, didn't help put my mind at ease.

Notes