The Chosen Bride

Minds Running Wild

 Brunhilde and Loki had talked for several hours. For a while, they discussed the best way to make sure they both got what they wanted. They had reached an agreement. Brunhilde would have all trace of her being a valkyrie erased by way of telling her Valkyrior friends to convince everyone else that she wasn't. Being a Valkyrie was not a very public affair, so not many people knew about it. Loki would then set up a place for her to train in the castle so she would not be seen. That took care of her being an easy target for enemies. The matter of how she would still fight? That took them a bit longer. They eventually agreed that they would let her go into battle if there was a massive one. Her teammates would come to alert her of the need for her, and she would leave.

The two agreed to work out the minor details later. Their conversation slowly drifted into small talk. This was odd, since neither of them liked small talk, but the conversation flowed easily and they didn't really have anyone else to spend the evening with. They talked about their childhoods. How Loki's mother had passed away and Brunhilde's father had. How they were both under a lot of pressure from their remaining parents to do things they didn't want to do. How Brunhilde's mother wanted her to settle down and have children, but she was a rebellious warrior. How Loki's father wanted Loki to rule identically to him, but Loki wanted to be an ambitious king who ruled according to his own code. "We are just a couple of rebellious trouble makers aren't we?" he had joked. And he was right.

Loki and Brun watched the sunset over the city with a bottle of wine. Not a bad first date with your fiance. When dusk hit, Loki got up and left. He said goodbye and kissed her hand, which she rolled her eyes at. He left her and walked to his chambers. He felt strangely joyful. He didn't want to get married, but it was actually nice to have a friend around the palace. That was something he'd almost never had

Brun stayed on the veranda for a long time, the cooling wind running through her hair. She thought about running away. She could easily. However, this would mean being a fugitive of the throne. That was an obvious losing situation, so she decided to stay.

She packed her bedroom restlessly for a while in her long luxurious night robe. All she had were the clothes the palace would give her, so she was pretty limited in the way of comfy pajamas. She finally laid on her bed, knowing her eyes would shut no time soon. She had to be married in about a month. That was unbelievable to her. To a man she had just met several hours prior. Oh my gods she thought is this what those princesses from midgardian films my mother showed me felt like?

She was wide awake and had nothing to do but dream about her future. What would she do all day? When she got the training room, she would train, but that would take a while to build. What until then? Loki said that they would attend sme parties together to show off to the public, one of them very soon. She dreaded just the thought of it. Parties and large and formal social gatherings were never her thing. Unless there was booze, but she had a feeling she wouldn't be allowed to drink much, if any at all.

Down the hall, Loki was laying in bed unable to sleep as well. He was getting married in a month. That was unbelievable to him. There was so much to do. So much that he wasn't sure of. He didn't think he was ready to spend the rest of his life with someone he'd known for so little time. He never had marriage as a priority to him, but he'd always hoped that it would be to someone who he felt like was his best friend. While Loki acted like all he cared about was success and riches, deep down he wanted a life partner. He didn't want to realize it, but his father was right about him needing someone to help him make decisions. Someone for him to rely on and put him in check when he really needed it. He wasn't sure if that was Brunhilde. He did get a good feeling around her though. He'd known her only hours, but it felt like much longer. She was just natural and real. Because of his social status, Loki didn't come in contact with many women like that.

The two sat across the castle from one another. Obviously, they did not know it, but they were thinking the same things. They were both unsure, nervous, and honestly a little scared. Would things turn out alright. Would Brunhilde ever get her freedom back? Would Loki ever find the love he needed? Well, only time could tell. For now the two sat across the palace from each other. So similar, yet so different, both of their minds running wild.