Chapter Text
The golden throne room of Asgard was designed for the theatre of state, and everything about it, from the massive scale to the ornate decoration to the lighting, was made to focus the eye on the splendor of the throne itself. On the most solemn occasions, Odin Allfather, resplendent in his armour, would be sitting on the throne, Gungnir in hand, ready to lay down justice on Asgard and the realms. His Queen, Frigga would be at his side, the throne magically shifting to welcome her presence. The Crown Prince of Asgard would stand on the steps of the dais, charging the air with his readiness to enforce the Allfather’s will. Guards and officials in shining armor would line the long walls of the room, and the might of the Aesir would be present behind them, in the form the myriad glories of its warriors. Woe betide any enemy who was brought before the throne of Asgard for judgment. Loki felt his return deserved at least that much effort.
Instead, he was standing next to Thor before his father’s desk in his study, with Odin sitting in a large, comfy chair on the other side, flanked by Frigga. Only the presence of Gungnir, firmly grasped in Odin’s hand, made this more a more official occasion than any other episode in the youth of princes with more power than sense. He’d quite literally lost count of all the times he or Thor (but usually both) had been summoned to stand here, awaiting judgment for whatever they’d done. He had expected something a little more dramatic, honestly. Something a little more in keeping with the gravity of his crimes. Odin and Frigga did look appropriately solemn, with that particularly hard gleam in his mother’s eye which meant that she was acting as a queen, rather than a doting mother. She had been the one to remove his shackles and the muzzle, evaluating the marks left behind with a critical, motherly eye. That was familiar enough.
It was the discussion that followed, however, that really took things out of the realm of the odd to that of the completely nonsensical. Already a little off-balance, it took him several moments to process what he was being told.
It was Thor’s smile that finally convinced him they were all serious. He wasn’t wearing one. At all. Not even a hint. Thor was in fact as solemn as Loki had ever seen him. No, more so; even at his coronation, Thor hadn’t been able to keep himself from smirking at everyone. The man had come from battle limping and covered in blood, and he’d been considerably more cheerful than he was now. Now, his expression was nearly mournful, and while it fit Loki’s sense of the occasion better, it was out of character and unnerving. His eyes, however, were still unbearably blue, and Loki was forced to look away, back at Odin, and his mother. Who also appeared to be horrifyingly serious.
“Let me see if we understand each other,” Loki began when they were finally done explaining what they intended. “For my supposed crimes against Jotunheim and Asgard, consorting with Thanos, invading Midgard with an alien species, miscellaneous murders, and failing repeatedly to kill Thor, you plan to punish me by marrying me off?” The things he’d done, all his schemes, the agonies he’d suffered… Did they merit no more recognition than this… this farce? He was insulted. Standing ramrod straight, the God of Mischief glared at those who would dare judge him, and did his level best to stare them down. Perhaps it was due to having only one eye left to bear his Jotun son’s withering gaze, or maybe to having experienced Loki as a teenager, but Odin, though mildly impressed, was not intimidated.
“The marriage is a solution, not a punishment. That will come later,” the Allfather said gravely.
“And who shall have the honor of my hand?” Loki asked, trying to sound more haughty than exasperated. He wasn’t sure it worked.
“Thor. Your brother.”
“He’s not my – wait, what?”
“Exactly. You share not ties of blood, but of affection,” Odin said, seemingly not at all disturbed by the prospect of his sons marrying each other. Incest between siblings was not unheard of in Asgard, but neither was it an everyday occurrence. Unlike parent-child relationships, which were roundly condemned as inherently unbalanced and wrong, sibling incest was regarded as something of a lark, an expression of high spirits and youthful love. The Vanir goddess Freyja and her brother Freyr had even set something of a fashion with their not-particularly-discreet affections. Maybe that was where his calmness sprang from. Or maybe he just saw it as a particularly tidy way of tying up all the loose ends Loki had left him with.
“Has no one been listening to a word I’ve been –“ Loki began, but Odin continued on, cutting him off and confirming his suspicions.
“Loki, son of Odin, son of Laufey, you have committed great wrongs, it is true, and for these you will atone. For the harm you have done your brother, you will make such amends as seem fitting to you both. For the suffering of Asgard, you will work to rebuild Bifrost and to earn once again the trust of our people. For the suffering of Midgard, wergild will be paid. Your dealings with the Jotnar brought both sides only misery, and debts that have been paid in sufficient blood, thus we will offer them only words and our pledge of peace. In all these things you will take the lead, and they will be done in the name of Loki, Prince of Asgard. This is your punishment.”
“That is quite possibly the most idiotic--“
“The Aesir and the Jotnar are perhaps the most bloodthirsty peoples among the Nine, and you share in both legacies. The things you have done, while lamentable, are in no way outside the bounds of forgiveness, for there would be no one left in Asgard if they were,” Odin continued, undeterred. It was driving Loki mad, but the anger and bewilderment was fighting now with a certain amount of relief in his heart. Asgard did not lack for barbaric punishments, and his ‘father’ had a certain genius for inventing them. He’d had little other than Thor’s reaction to gage Asgard’s opinion of what he’d done, and he cared not for their opinions of him, he was above all that. He had never despised the Aesir until he’d discovered he was not one of them but he was never overly fond of them, and for the most part, treated them with a sort of distain. He rallied, pushing these miserable feelings down and away.
“If you will excuse all that I have done, then for what crime am I sentenced to an eternity of marriage to Thor, of all people?!”
“Heimdall sees most things, my son, and your mother and I see still others. For all your bravado, you did not conspire with Thanos or the Chitauri; you fell into their hands and you bargained for your life. You thought you were alone and without hope of rescue, and you did what seemed best to you, and I will not fault you for acting in desperation. Make no mistake," he said, cutting off Loki's objections, "I know full well you enjoyed much of the chaos you caused in their name. It is in the nature of the Aesir and the Jotun both, and you have always reveled in chaos and mischief, but you are capable of all things, and Thanos has not damned you beyond redemption." Loki fumed, but his tongue seemed to fail him, which might have been a first, or at the very most, a second. "As my heir, Thor is tied to the realm in ways you are not, Loki. Even when you were king, you lacked this, for Thor and I still lived, and so the mantle could not truly pass to you. It is not a matter of blood, but of sanction. When you marry, you will gain the strength and protection of both Thor and Asgard itself. Despite what he may have led you to believe, there is power here to keep you safe from Thanos and whatever is left of the Chitauri.”
Loki’s smile was brittle and disbelieving. The reminder that he was, once again, only the lesser prince stung him. “And keep me safely in custody, no doubt, in the bosom of my loving family.”
“No doubt,” Odin said evenly. “Until the day you realize that this is where your heart truly lies.”
“Not anymore. You have sundered that bond with your lies and manipulations, Odin. I have no affection for Asgard or it's peoples, and especially not any of you!" the hatred that slipped into his tone could almost be seen, so heavy was it.
Odin sighed heavily, looking almost weary for a moment. "Be that as it may, this is your home and you will come to accept it once more."
"You would harbour a serpent in your midst, to prove there is no venom left in it,” Loki gave up on trying to get any of them to understand that he would never call Asgard home again. The pain and lies were just too deep to covered over and forgotten.
“I would have both my sons home. And will ye or nil ye, you are my son.”
Loki cast about for another rational person in the room. Surely someone else saw this for the disaster it was... He passed over Frigga, guessing her opinion on this travesty from the benevolent smirk she wore. That left him turning to Thor for a voice of reason, and if that wasn’t a sign of the end of all things, nothing was. “Are you just going to stand there and say nothing while they sell you so cheaply? You must know what folly this is!” he demanded.
“Have you not said often enough that we are not brothers?” Thor said calmly, meeting his gaze directly. “Then we will be wed, and there will be no more doubt that you belong here, and that your home is with me.”
“And what do you think to gain from this, brother?” Loki sneered. “A Jotun whore in your bed? A trophy at your side?”
Thor smiled for the first time since he’d brought Loki home, and though it was small, it was genuine. “I would gain my heart’s desire.” Well, there was no reasoning with that, was there? Whatever that was.
Thor continued to just smile at him. Stupid oaf, had he no idea just how deep his disgust ran for this endeavour?
“Mother,” Loki said, finally turning to Frigga with a sense of desperation, “you must see what madness this is.”
“Certainly,” she answered, “but what choices do we have? Shall we lock you in a hole for a thousand years? Shall we torment you until you are mad? Let you free to continue on your path until Thanos finally destroys your soul? Or should we protect you and give you a chance of happiness?” Frigga was implacable and unruffled, if not unkind, and Loki remembered abruptly why he had stopped seeking her counsel on things he knew she wouldn’t agree with. It was like arguing with the wind, or the sunlight, or some other metaphor for a mother who was relentlessly right about most things and absolutely knew it.
“I do not need protection,” he said stiffly. “I refuse.”
There were several moments of uneasy silence, and then the Allfather spoke again, his voice heavy with finality. “I am afraid you have mistaken me, Loki. All of us are of more import than our simple selves: we are the royal family of Asgard. There is now too wide a rift between us to leave un-mended, for both our sake and that of those who look to us for protection and guidance. I cannot offer you a choice in this, just as I could not offer it to Thor. You will be wed at sunset tomorrow.”
“Did you all lose your wits while I was gone?” Loki replied, his voice pleasant and dripping venom. “Do you truly believe that this mystical spirit of bright Asgard will bring all to rights again? Your arrogant little charade will solve nothing. It will end nothing.” There was a hand on his arm suddenly, and he found himself jerked face to face with an angry Thor.
“No, Loki, we lost you, and it will not happen again, I swear it. Your own wits serve you ill if you believe there is nothing but vanity behind this. Aesir, Jotun, brother, foe, or husband: I care not, but I will not let you fall again, now that you are with me once more.”
But Loki could not let that stand. "There is no love in me for you any longer, not even that for a brother. I will forever despise you for this," he hissed out, and he had the satisfaction of seeing Thor jerk in surprise and give him a startled look before letting go.
Why was his ‘family’ so set on this? The thought occurred, however, that he could simply go through with the whole thing and then disappear afterwards. He already had ample reason to hide himself away for a few centuries, even if he was loath to admit to such things, and he already had a list of suitable places worked out. Odin might watch him carefully for awhile, but once his vigilance slipped, Loki would vanish.
As for Thor, he had little doubt that he could evade his brother’s intentions, whatever they were, without much trouble. He only had to suffer through whatever nonsensical ceremony they had in store, and then he would be free once again. It almost made him smile. Almost
The wedding did, indeed, take place at dusk on the next day. The announcements seemed to have gone out before Loki himself had been informed, and a large number of people from all across the realms turned up on the wedding day in their finest clothes and most glittering jewels. Apparently the wedding of the princes of Asgard was an event not to be missed, regardless of who they were marrying or how terribly scandalous it all was. In fact, the scandal made it irresistible. Loki was a Jotun? He’d committed crimes in the service of Thanos? Invaded another realm? And now he was marrying his brother? Who could resist? There were formal dignitaries from more places than any one person could remember, all of them done up in exotic costumes that set tongues wagging wherever they went.
A pile of gifts, some of them not immediately identifiable as anything but expensive, grew steadily on the platform set aside for it, drawing a crowd kept back by stoic guards. Speculation on who and what had come with what and whom ran rampant. Vanaheim sent its own scandal to attend, in the form of a party of royals and their cloud of courtiers. These spent much of their time casting sidelong glances at the party from Alfheim, which included a young princess one of the Vanir princes had apparently shamed himself and his family over. The Jotnar, still technically at war with Asgard, were neither asked nor expected to send a representative. They did, however, arrange for an Asgardian outpost on Muspelheim to be bombarded with a number of dead and rotting snow bears, specifically in Loki's honour. Nobody from Midgard was invited, on the grounds that attempting to arrest one of the grooms during the ceremony would be bad form, and that none of Thor’s new friends could be trusted not to try it.
Under Asgard’s perfect skies, tables groaned under weight of the food laid out for the feasts, banners in bright colors flew from every available surface, and living, flowering vines had been coaxed to spiral up every column and pillar overnight, shedding their high, sweet scent everywhere. There was music and dancing to be had around every corner. Fountains of mead and wine shot up from pools with cups set up in readiness all around the basins. The Aesir excelled at both violence and celebration, and took them both equally seriously. To have them going to such effort for such a bizarre reason made Loki’s head spin a little, but then, he’d been off-balance since he’d first set foot on the Bifrost yesterday. The entire wedding day, in fact, had begun to seem unreal to Loki before it even started.
They had stayed with him that night, of course. Between the three of them, his former family had no trouble at all keeping an eye on him, politely blocking all avenues of escape. Irritatingly, they gathered in his own rooms after dinner, denying him the solitude he craved and treating him like they would a long-lost son who had suddenly returned. Of course, he was exactly that, but he was also a villain brought to justice, wasn’t he? A king betrayed? A monstrous offspring returned snarling to the fold? Unfortunately, he was also exhausted after a long day spent trying to conquer Midgard on behalf of hideous beings who’d forced him to do their will, and his burning resentment eventually faded into simple unconsciousness. He woke once or twice during the night, finding himself tucked into his own bed, which it turned out he had missed very much. Thor and Odin had been sitting in front of the fire together, drinking something from small glasses and talking in low voices, their heads almost together. Later, it had been Frigga and Odin together, sitting close and whispering. Loki remembered being sick once, when he was very young, and waking to find them this way, watching over him as he slept. The past and the present blurred as his eyes slipped shut, and he wondered what illness afflicted him now.
Many hours later, in the warmth of mid-morning, Loki had awoken to find Frigga letting a train of servants into his rooms. Loki had regarded them all with suspicion and open, if sleepy, hostility until a tray of fresh pastries was offered to appease him. Regardless of how much hatred he might have nurtured for the Aesir, his affection for Asgard’s bakers had never waned. Letting the delicate frosting melt into pure sugar on his tongue that morning, he almost forgave everyone for everything, forever.
Then Frigga started unpacking the chests she’d brought with her, and the battle of who would win in regards to his appearance at the wedding began. No one mentioned the occasion he was being made ready for. Frigga was almost giddy with anticipation when she and the servants started dragging out mounds of silken robes in white, gold and silver, with accents in Thor's signature red. If it had not been for the feeling of the heavy seidr wards placed all around to subdue his own powers, he would have set fire to the palace in that instance. Unable to use that route, he waited for them to approach him with the garments before reaching over and ripping them tight.
"Don't they look beau-," Frigga began, just before a terrible ripping sound rang out through the chambers. Frigga stared in shock as the gorgeous garment was torn into pieces right before her very eyes. She looked up into the overwhelmingly livid face of her youngest son, and for the first time since the solution to saving their family had come to her, she was faced with the possibility that the marriage would not be welcomed by her son. She had been so sure that given time, the love Thor held for his brother would be returned by Loki and the happiness of a proper marriage would flourish. But the look on her youngest's face made her think that the rift between them was too wide to ever traverse, if that turned out to be true, then this marriage had already failed. She vowed to herself right then that she would do all in her power to make this union work, no matter what she had to do.
"If you think that I will wear that disgusting excuse for an outfit, then you have another thing coming!" he snarled, utterly furious with the expectations of everyone. They all thought that he would wear Thor's colours? It was practically a brand stating that he belonged to Thor. No! He belonged to no one but himself, and he would not bow to the wishes of others. He might not have any choice in this mockery of a union, but he would not be walked over or dictated too.
"Loki! Those were made specifically for you, they were a fortune to get. How could you just destroy them like that, your wedding day is here," Frigga upset voice carried over the dismayed murmurs of the servants as they watched the tattered pieces fall to the ground. She had had that made to suit her son perfectly, and now all that hard work was in ruins.
"I care not for your petty wishes, I will wear what I wish and none can gainsay me. Now get out." He was no longer in the mood to go along with their games. When they did not move he raised his voice so that it thundered through the room. "LEAVE! Now, and take that with you!" throwing the hairpieces that came with the robes at them as they retreated out of sight. Finally he had some peace and quiet to think on his plans for the future, and a way out of this stupid union.
When Loki finally advanced up the aisle towards Thor, the entire court were whispering to each other on the appearance of the prince. He was dressed head to toe in his signature black and green, and had put on his most battle ready armour, with his long hair loose behind him. He did not look like a Prince on his way to the happiest occasion of his life and a joyful union with his soon-to-be partner for life, but a Prince ready to wage war and emerge victorious. Loki received disapproving glares from Odin and Thor, both frustrated with Loki's unwillingness to display proper reverence for such a sacred union.
Thor’s hair shone like a halo in the last rays of the setting sun, gathered back and plaited intricately, and Loki was glad to see that he wasn't the only one who'd suffered. His brother also looked tired, with dark patches under his eyes, but his smile was as bright as always when he saw Loki watching him. Odin and Frigga, also ornately dressed, were waiting for them at the foot of the throne.
The old man was positively radiating smugness, and Frigga beamed at the sight of her sons, about to be joined together in incestuous matrimony. Loki found the two of them unnerving. They looked like this was something they’d long expected and were happy to see come to fruition. Frigga was rather misty-eyed, in fact, and he knew very well that it wasn’t misery behind her eyes. Of course, the woman was overly fond of weddings anyway, that being her area of authority, but, still, Loki was fairly certain that dewy-eyed smiles weren’t the proper response to marrying your sons to each other. Unless, of course, she no longer considered Loki her son. His heart gave a painful thump at the thought, despite what she was recently condoning, he thinks she may have been the only one to truly love him, and knowing now that she no longer saw him as a son, pained him greatly.
In fact, now that he thought about it, perhaps this strange complacency he was feeling, this sense that none of this was real and therefore not to be worried about, was due to her. Had she drugged his food? That particular thought made his stomach drop, try as he might to dismiss it. He was probably just suffering shock. Perhaps, if he was lucky, the Hulk had actually given him some sort of brain trauma, and in truth he was in a hospital bed on Midgard, having an especially vivid series of hallucinations. That would be nice.
Odin held up his hands, and there was silence, except for the slow throbbing of a drum. The expectations of the crowd were almost a physical weight on the back of Loki’s neck. Then Odin began to talk about the sanctity of marriage and what the future would hold for the two that were being bound today in this most sacred of rights. As the ceremony went on, he recited the vows of love and duty, and turned to Thor. "Thor do you vow to uphold these oaths to Loki, your Consort?"
"Yes, I swear to uphold the vows of matrimony and bind myself to Loki for the rest of eternity," Thor's voice rang out through the throne room and over the heads of the gathered audience.
Then Odin turned to Loki, who straightened and sent the most vicious glare he could muster right at him. "Loki do you vow to uphold these oaths to Thor, your future King?" as he sent his own glare back, followed by a look that told him that he had better follow the script as it was laid out before him.
And in a tone that carried all the freezing bite of the void, all the disgust and hatred he had for the supposed Golden Realm, Loki threw that script into the wind.
"No. I do not. I refuse to bind myself to such an idiotic creature, one who will never be my King as I recognise no other over me. I will not recognise any of your vows or oaths, and disavow myself of any bonds to Thor," Loki's voice was firm and unwavering, resolute in his declaration. Thor sent him the saddest look he had probably ever given his brother, but it did nothing to sway his conviction.
Odin had to raise his voice to be heard over the sudden murmuring that a shocked and dismayed crowd started up. "Loki, the decision has been made. Your marriage to Thor as his Consort is definite, accept it." He stared at Loki, willing him to accept his fate in front of all the witnesses.
"No, I will not. I refuse to spend eternity with an unmitigated moron such as your son." The court gasped at this, this could not be the happy union they all thought it to be.
Odin's voice was heavy. "So be it. I, Odin Allfather, as father to Loki Odinson, on behalf of my son, swear his vows to Thor, Prince of Asgard, that he will uphold them even beyond death." His proclamation resonated through the couple standing before him, sealing the fate of his youngest son, binding him by word to his eldest and to Asgard.
The Allfather approached his sons with an ornate knife held up for the crowd to see. Carefully, he sliced into the palms of their right hands, each in turn, letting a few drops from each wound fall into a goblet of wine. He bade them clasp their bloody hands together, and then Frigga came forward with a pair of silver and gold ribbons, which she wrapped and tied around their hands tightly while pronouncing her blessing over their union. The urge to pull away was almost overwhelming, but Thor’s hand gripped his tightly, and Loki felt lightness steal over him, a feverish weakness. He knew he was standing firmly on his own two feet, grasping Thor’s hand with retributive harshness, but he couldn’t seem to feel it. Then the goblet was lifted to Thor’s lips, and he drank half of the wine, his eyes holding Loki’s over the golden curve of the rim. Brother, friend, enemy… and what would they be now? Did it even matter? Loki’s thoughts skipped away from that question, because he had no answers. Not now. Not yet. When the cup was pressed to his own mouth, he drank. There was no way to flee, and nowhere to go if he did. This was as good as anyplace to rest until he could set his plans in motion.
The wine was sweet and biting on his tongue, and strangely cold enough to send a shiver through him. Frigga pronounced their union in a loud, clear voice, and there was cheering, but Loki barely heard it, as the sound of the drum seemed to have blended with his own heartbeat in his ears. Disoriented, he realized with a shock that there were runes he didn’t quite recognize woven into the ribbons tying him to Thor. Rune magic wasn’t really something he could say he’d mastered, but he shouldn’t have had trouble reading these, should he? That wasn’t how a marriage vow should read; that was more like an invocation… The ribbons flared brightly before he could finish puzzling it out, and then they sank painlessly into his and Thor’s flesh, disappearing as the glow spread under their skin, covering them entirely from head to toes for a brief moment before fading. He felt the cold wash of power burning through his flesh, weaving itself between the two of them, and it was already too late. He reared back, but Thor held him tight, and Frigga’s hand was on his shoulder, steadying him. But he could feel the magic burning its way beneath his skin, trying to bind itself to his soul and magical core. He could not let that happen, and so he summoned his own seidr to combat it, and while it took much of his strength, he managed to prevent it from sealing itself to his soul and core. He could still feel its hooks under his skin, but his magic was free and unbound, and with that he could do anything.
The two of them were bound, Loki realized, the hair rising on the back of his neck. He could feel Thor, and he would always know where Thor was from now on, the way a blind man can tell the direction of the sun from the warmth. Thor, presumably, could do the same with him, and Loki’s days of freedom were over for now. Hopefully, because he had managed to prevent the binding from succeeding completely, he would be able to remove it in the future and claim his freedom once more.
Odin’s heavy hands came down on their shoulders, turning them around to face the crowds, their hands falling away from each other because it didn’t matter anymore, and presented them to the crowd as Heir and Consort, princes both. Loki fumed and the further reminder that he was beneath Thor, and they had ensured a way that he would always be the lesser Prince. The Allfather said something more, something long and sonorous that Loki couldn’t hear over the sound of his own heartbeat, even though they stood so close, and the cheering eventually resolved itself into his name and Thor’s. Thor tryed to take his hand, but he yanked it away, not caring who would see his discontent. Loki scanned all the happy, shouting faces with disbelief, certain that most of them would’ve been just as happy to slit his throat ten minutes ago. Was he the only one who could feel this, who could hear it all around them? Thor turned to him, and as their eyes met, Loki knew that he was not. Thor lived with the knowledge of this power around him all the time: this was Asgard. Loki could see it in resonate, somehow, in the blue of his eyes. How had Loki lived with this all around him for his whole life and never realized it? The depth of it, the rolling brightness of it all left him breathless. He could feel the realm spread out beneath and above and around him, living and vibrant, a branch of the World Tree.
Thor beamed at him then, bright as the dawn, and drew him forward for a kiss that was sweet and tender but Loki turned his head and backed away. Thor threw him a look of frustration and reached out again, but Loki was far nimbler than the larger thunderer and kept out of his reach. Thor's face changed to one of sadness and he stopped trying to capture his brother before he made a fool of himself.
“Why did you never tell me about this?” he whispered towards Thor, he was angry that no one had told him about this magic.
“Would you have believed me?” Thor asked in answer.
“No,” Loki said instantly.
“There you have it,” his… brother smiled back.
“That’s it? That is the truth of it?”
“And perhaps,” Thor said, lifting his head to meet his eyes, “one day I thought you would know it for yourself.” Loki couldn’t quite make sense of those words at that moment, and by the time he did, he didn’t care.
There were, of course, many more things yet to do that night, mostly ceremonial or diplomatic, and Thor and his new husband dutifully did them each in turn. Thor did most of the talking, and no one seemed to find it odd that Loki didn’t seem to be paying much attention. He was too busy trying to decipher the runes he had seen on the bonding rope, hoping to find a way to break the spell. He could have cared less about being diplomatic or trying to fake that he was happy with this arrangement. He ignored all the ambassadors from the other Realms, no matter the overtures they displayed, and Thor was forced, for the first time in his life, to excuse and apologise for his brother's manners.
The steadily growing frustration and anger Thor felt towards his brother did not abate, but grew rapidly when Loki insulted a group of Dwarves who had come to see the Princes of Asgard married. He had so thoroughly cut their congratulations and compliments into shreds, that the whole lot stormed off, right over his attempts to apologise.
"Loki! Enough, that was the fourth group you have insulted in the last half hour," Thor couldn't take this anymore, Loki was supposed to be the diplomatic one, not him.
Loki shrugged, unapologetic. "So. I can not for your little get together."
"This is our wedding celebrations. A feast for our future together."
"Your future, not mine. I did not agree to anything."
Thor sighed, "I know this is not what you desired, but it really is the best solution for everyone. I can protect you as my husband, and everyone now knows that your home is with me. I have hoped for this wedding for a long time, and I will make you happy. I swear it."
"I do not need protecting!" Loki snarled, standing up from their table. "It is you who will need protecting from me. And how typical of your arrogance, Thor, that you think that only your desires and wishes are the ones to take into account. I did not wish for this, I do not want this, and I will be damned if you think you can tame me. I warn you now, I will make you regret this, you and Odin," and with those words ringing in Thor's ears, Loki marched off into the crowd of well wishers that filled the feast hall.
How dare he! That pompous arrogant ass. Acting like his wants were the only ones that mattered. He would make them all pay, every last one. Loki was so involved with his rant that he did not see the slim young woman that was in his path until he collided with her. She gasped as she almost fell, and it was pure reflex that Loki's hand shot out to catch her. He turned to her to apologise, for though he may hate all of Asgard at the moment, it was not her fault that he had ran her over.
"I'm sorry, miss," he began, until he caught sight of her. She was not an Aesir like he had thought, she was the most beautiful Elf maiden he had probably ever seen. Her hair was like a starless night sky, and her eyes like shining emeralds, skin as pale as moonlight and she wore a dress the colour of the deepest oceans. She stood not more than a few inches shorter than him, quite tall for a female, but then all Elves were tall and willowy.
She bowed to him, "Forgive me, I was not looking where I was going."
"No not at all, it was my fault." He continued to stare at her, never before seeing such an exquisite specimen of a female. He was so lost in looking at her that he almost missed her next words.
"My Lord? Is everything alright, you seem to be deep in thought?"
"Yes, my Lady. I just have a lot on my mind."
"So I see. Pardon my forwardness, but you don't seem happy about your wedding, particularly with your new husband."
"He is not my husband!" Loki snapped, startling her so she jumped back slightly. He sighed, "Sorry. This was not done with my consent, and I'm just frustrated."
"It's alright, I understand. On Alfheim, marrying the one you love, not the one your parents tell you to like here in Asgard, is seen as the best way to ensure good unions," she said while looking up at him.
"Yes, be that it was that way here. Forgive me, I am Prince Loki," he introduced himself formally.
"I am Sigyn Njordsdottir, a minor noble from Alfheim," as she curtsied to him.
"Well Sigyn, how about we get out of this noisy place and have a quiet drink in the gardens, they are quite beautiful at night?"
"My Lord?" Sigyn looked about, slightly unsure about this forward offer.
"Yes, I have had my fill of idiots today, and if I stay here a moment longer, I will soon become a widower," he really wanted to get out of the hall, as the drunken twits around him were quickly giving him a headache.
"Well in that case, I would be honoured," and Sigyn followed him outside, away from the revelry happening in Asgard's Great Feast Hall.
As they left, they did not notice Frigga watching them go with a frown on her face.