Chapter Text
The halls of Asgard seemed to go on forever. Between the high ceilings and the walls that just screamed opulence, it was no wonder that this place homed the Gods.
You had grown up here. Hiding behind pillars, as the young princes tried to find you. Watching Thor scream as Loki transformed into different creatures to surprise him. Thousands of stories had been written between these walls.
It was just as you grew, those moments became less pleasure and more formal. Your teenage years were spent watching as your father negotiated deals with Odin, hours upon hours of watching old men come up with plans. But there was some joy in it, watching the two young boys shuffling uncomfortably in their barely fitting amour. Thor seemed to fill his out quite well, whereas Loki’s horns seemed to grow with his arrogance. You regularly mused to yourself was he compensating for something having horns so large. Often between the three of you, you would steal smiles or some silly gesture. It always helped to make the seriousness of the room feel slightly lighter.
As the years passed, you had been forced into proper “Nobility Training”. Also known as let’s sit around and bore out any form of personality you may have. It meant you got to spend less time with your friends and more time studying maps and strategy plans. It had been drilled into you, that from the age of 15 you would be groomed to be the next leader. Much to your father’s disappointment he could only seem to produce girls, therefore forcing you to the top of the rankings. You would often watch your sisters enjoy some form of freedom. Yearning to be able to be that carefree again.
“Remember, you need to create relations in order to thrive as a leader” Your eyes rolled heavily, as your father pulled on some loose threads of his cloak. These were the times you wished your mother could come with you both, to events such as this. It was your first Asgardian feast in over a decade, and you knew she would have been able to sooth your fathers worrying. It was almost as if he had forgotten you had grown up around here.
“I think I should be fine” With a slight head tilt and smile, you pushed his hand away. Your handmaids had spent hours pulling you into your dress, the corset so tight you could barely breath. The fabric draped delicately across your open back, as you had requested if your father was wearing a cape, then so would you. The dress exposed your shoulders but gathered at your wrist, providing the feeling of wings every time you moved your arms. If you had to dress nicely, you wanted to at least enjoy it.
“I promise to behave, but that means you can’t drink in return” Your fathers head turned towards you, a deadpan expression lingered on his face.
“When we get home, remind me to have some negotiation lessons arranged for you” Your eyes rolled heavily as you grabbed his arm, laughing lightly between yourselves as the grand doors opened in front of you.
The room was already brimming with people. Laughter danced across the air, as freely as the drinks being poured from various jugs. Your father towed you along at his side, constantly reintroducing you to people as you brushed by. Many only knew you as a small child, so to see a woman standing in front of them was a large surprise. You sometimes wondered if gods just forgot how aging worked. It felt like you had been walking for ages before you finally reached your seats, rows and rows of tables stretched across the hall as you released your fathers’ arm. “I am just going to go and see some old friends” The smirk on your father’s face told you that he would soon be full of alcohol. “If you need anything, I will be over there” He sloppily flicked his wrist into a general direction, before darting off.
You sunk back slightly into your chair, as your finger continued to trace its way around the chalice in front of you. Eyes scanning the room for anything you could focus onto as a distraction. They only stopped when they landed on something oddly familiar. At the top of the room, perched slightly higher than the rest of the party stood three figures. The older of the three started his descent down into the crowd, leaving the other two in deep conversation. The blonde one laughed, the echo bouncing off of the marble walls. The other stood quite smugly, arms folded and proud of himself for getting such a reaction to whatever comment he had made. The same thoughts you had as a teenager came back to you as your eyes trailed up to his headwear. Definitely compensating.