❀ Beauty and the Beast ↠

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Some time later, I stood in the throne room alone, pondering over what to do about Freya. I couldn't believe that Odin had invited her to join the family for dinner. I wanted to be as far away from her as possible yet I was expected to eat no farther than five feet from her. She had to be watched - I didn't trust her for a second. It bewildered me how the fearsome warrior who severed heads from their shoulders and the delicate, soft-spoken woman that I had seen before me earlier were the same person. I was disturbed from my thoughts once again when Thor came bounding in, stomping his obnoxious feet on the ground like he always did. I swear you could hear him coming from a mile away. "Well then brother!" He yelled causing me to shrivel up a little from the sudden noise. "Aren't you impressed with the Lady Freya?" He asked me, trying to throw his arm around me but I refused his affections. I rolled my eyes at the oaf and tried to straighten myself up after the disturbance. "Are you really so naive?" I asked him to which he did not respond. When I didn't gain an answer I just sighed and tried to leave the room. However, I was stopped dead in my tracks by Thor's jolly voice as he boomed that I thought the Lady Freya was beautiful and that's why I was so dismissive of her. My muscles tensed under my skin as I grit my teeth. Anger boiled deep in my system, as hot as lava. It churned within, hungry for destruction, mainly directed at Thor but any destruction would do. "What are you talking about, you witless oaf!" I yelled at him, turning to face him but he only laughed more."Calm yourself, brother!" He roared with laughter. "There is no shame in finding the goddess of beauty beautiful," Of course he was right but I couldn't let him see that. He would never let me forget it. I relaxed just a little because I knew deep down she was right. She was a breathtaking woman. Which is something that I never thought that I'd say. Odin and Frigga had tried in the past to match myself and Thor but obviously, every woman I had ever been introduced to was clearly more interested in the oaf. It was just as well that they were, none of them had ever interested me, they were far too shallow and boring for my tastes. Once he had seen that I had relaxed, Thor walked over and threw his arm around me much to my discomfort. "It's funny, brother. I never saw the blonde haired, blue eyed maiden as your type," I growled at him and thrust him off me warning him to mind his own business. I stormed out and marched down the halls, obviously everyone avoiding my path. They were afraid of me for reasons and valid ones at that so I couldn't really blame them. Especially when it came out about what I really was. Why would they not be afraid of me? As if I was going to be the one frost giant in history that wasn't a threat to Asgardians. I huffed as the young servants cowered away from me. I knew exactly what they were thinking, I was a very difficult person to hide things from. Their thoughts could mostly be divided into three categories when it came to their opinions on me. The first was that they were madly attracted to me because they liked the idea of the danger of being with such a man - foolish really. The second was disgust and confusion towards the maids who felt that way about me and the final way was just pure fear. The most logical emotion really. When I reached my chamber, I made my way to the bathroom and began to run my own bath. I didn't have to. Normally servants would do it for us but I had grown tired of either them cowering from me or trying to advance on me, yet I expected that Thor got much more of the latter than me - which I didn't honestly mind. Once the bath was full and I was undressed, throwing the clothes over a chair neatly, I slid down into the water, letting it block out the thoughts from the morning. I wished that the tub would expand so that I could go swimming, like I used to with Thor as a young boy. Those days were a special to me even if I didn't explicitly tell him so. I opened my eyes for a split second to look at my left hand. Even when my skin was perfectly clear, I still saw blue. Blue everywhere. It was maddening. I had always thought before that if I found a person or even people that I could truly connect with, perhaps I would have a chance of true relationships but not now. I clenched my fist and cast it down into the water, spraying it all over the marble floor around me. I yelled out from agony of the pain of loneliness. I was a monster, nothing more. A monster in a mans body. And now that the details of my parentage are out, that's all anyone else can see. I got out of the bath before I could make any more mess in the bathroom and wrapped a large towel around myself, making my way to the bookshelf. I was sure that there was a midgardian tale I had read at some point, Frigga had given me the book when I first found out about my parentage, when I first started to feel like the monster I was. I scanned the shelf with my finger until I found it. 'La Belle et la Bête' Or ' The Beauty and the Beast' as a literal translation however, I had read the book in its original language. I smiled down at the novel and lay on the bed beginning to skim the pages. I knew why mother had given me the book. It was a story about a prince who was turned into a animal-like monster and a beautiful woman who learns to love him for what he is, seeing past his horrid appearance to the prince inside. I knew that Frigga's intentions were good but the book didn't help. It just reminded me that my prospect for friends and true relationships with anyone were non existent. I was no prince trapped inside a beasts body. I was a beast trapped inside of a princes body.