Raven's POV
After we got our rooms, three all in a row, we spent the rest of the day exploring the city, where Peter and I found the royal gardens, and basically spent the rest of the afternoon there, except once or twice when we went to get books or snacks from the seemingly endless kitchen that we were introduced to when we got the tour of the castle. Then at about 7:00, we got called to dinner.
"I wonder what we're having for dinner," Peter says as we walk back towards the doors that lead to the throne room. There we are supposed to meet dad and Thor, then head to the dining hall. "I have no idea whatsoever." I tell him. "Do you know what they serve here on Asgard?" I ask, turning to face him, my eyes growing wider. I can't hold it back as he starts laughing, though. I burst out laughing. Wiping tears from our eyes, we continue on our way through the halls towards the throne room. When we get there, I see father and Thor waiting, just as they promised. I smile and saunter up to them. "So," I start off. "Where is the dining hall?" Dad turns around from the conversation he was having with Thor. He looks concerned, but the expression quickly vanishes from his face as he sees that it is only me and Peter. "Oh, the dining hall!" He says, turning his whole body to face us. "Follow me." He walks off, still talking with Thor. We lag a little behind, but just enough that we are out of earshot of them.
By the time we turn the corner, dad and uncle have stopped their conversation, whatever it was about. The whole time we were walking, I only caught snippets of it, like Odin, staff, stone, and prison. I don't know what they were talking about, but whatever it was, it worries me. "Raven, you can sit with me." A voice knocks me out of my thoughts. I look in the direction the voice came from, and see my father. i nod, letting him lead the way to the table adorned with all sorts of foods, most of which I have never seen before. We walk around to the side opposite from the door we came in from, and sit in a space where there are 4 empty chairs, waiting for us. Everyone looks at us, and I look down, wondering if there is something wrong with our attire. Then I look around and see that all the ladies are wearing dresses with fancy jewelry, and the men are wearing tunics with breeches made of what looks like leather. However, I am wearing a misfits short with my favorite Avenged Sevenfold hoodie and jeans with nikes, and Peter is wearing a red leather jacket with a grey tee short and jeans as well, with Reeboks. I lean over to dad. "Why didn't you inform us of what we needed to be wearing?" I whisper to him, my eyebrows raised. He looks at me. "we didn't have enough time, and I may have forgot. I haven't been anywhere with women in a while, and the only men I've seen look like the guards!" He says, raising his hands defensively and pointing one finger at the guards near the door behind us. I shrug and smile at him a little, forgiving him. Again, he has been in a cell most of the time here with no company. I can't really blame him for the things he's done. It's also his first time being a father.
Odin stands up at the head of the table, silencing the very loud table. "Everyone!" He says, in a loud voice. I can tell where Thor got it from. "We are having a special dinner tonight in honor of Loki's daughter coming to Asgard. Everyone, this is Raven." He point to me, and I wave, not knowing what to do. At least two people roll their eyes a me, so I quickly sit down, my face turning red.
Once the meal is over, we walk to our rooms, but Peter and I head straight back to the garden to get the books and paper we left there. When we come back, we go through the hallway to our rooms, and somehow we end up behind two Asgardians. A man and a woman. I want to pass them, but I'm not sure if it would be rude or not. They are talking to each other. For some reason, I want to hear what they are saying, so I grab Peter's hand and we walk a little faster towards them. They don't notice that we are listening in to their conversation. "... not fit to be a father at all! He should be rotting away in that cell right now, with all that he's done! I don't care that they are giving him another chance just because Odin has a granddaughter!" The woman says, very clearly annoyed. The man looks at her. "I completely agree with you. I'll bet if they keep letting Loki raise that loathsome daughter, then she will turn out exactly like him, and then maybe next time they try to take over the world, we won't be able to stop them." He states. I can feel anger bubbling up inside me, and Peter knows it, because he grabs my hand a little tighter, and looks at me with caution. The woman looks back at the man and continues her argument from before. "I think they should all be sent back to Midgard and stripped of their powers! the lot of them! Loki is a foul creature anyways, so if they do let him raise his putrid, ugly daughter, then she will turn out like him. I bet back on Midgard no one would notice she was even close to human. She looks to much like a pig. Doesn't wear dresses, and she doesn't even know how to curtsy, as she just moved her hand side to side at the dining table. She probably doesn't even know what her uncle, if he's even fit to be one, is god of!" The woman finishes the conversation and they round the nearest corner. I stop, absolutely fuming. I clench and unclench my fists, glaring down the passage in which they went. "How dare they speak of my father that way!" I yell. "He is a good man. As for what they said about me, they will pay!" My voice seems louder than usual, and the hall colder than it was before. Peter has backed up against a wall. I look down. My arms are blue! I walk over to a polished shield hanging on the wall, and bright red eyes fixed into a light blue face stare back at me. I am ugly.
I run to my room as fast as I can, and when I get there I lock the door and throw myself onto the bed, sobbing. What have I become?
After a few minutes, someone knocks at he door. "May I come in?" They ask. Father. I can't let him in. He is the last person I want to see me like this. "No." I say, still crying. "Go away, you can't see me." I don't hear anything for a minute, so I know he hasn't left yet. "Why can't I come in, Raven?" He asks, his voice soft. I put my head into my hands and let out a cry. "I'm a monster!" I sob. I hear the door opening, and quickly head myself under the blankets in my room, wondering how he could have gotten in, then remember he has magic as well. "Go away. I told you I'm a monster!" I say through the blankets. He carefully lifts the blankets up, and I pull my hood up and put my hands in my pockets. Father lifts my head up and looks at the disgustingly ugly blue face with the horrible red eyes. More tears silently slide down my face, and I try to cover my face with my hands, but Loki grabs them with his extra hand. "It's okay." He whispers. "I'm like this too. What did they do?" I shake my head. "No. I'm... ugly, horrible, a pig, a monster. They-they said if-if you raised me, I would turn out to be like you. They said you should be locked up for all eternity, or banished with me to Earth and be stripped of all powers, or... or be killed." I look down, more tears sliding down my face. I can feel Loki's eyes still on me, and suddenly I am pulled into a tight hug. "You will never turn out like me. I swear on your life! I will be a good father to you. I won't lose you again!" He says. I wrap my arms around him and cry out all the tears that I have.
"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Dad asks, holding me back a little so he can see my face. I nod, and he pulls my hood up again. We walk out of my bedroom door and down the hall towards where his room is. When he opens the door, I take off my shoes and sit on the bed, looking around. There are spellbooks almost everywhere. I smile. Loki walks to the bathroom, and I see him staring at the mirror, hard. He comes back after a minute, an his skin is blue, his eyes red. He climbs into the bed after taking his shoes off as well and when I get in bed and face him, he holds me tight. I slide the covers up and look at his beautiful blue face one more time before falling asleep. I truly love my father, I do.
