The Chosen Bride

The Women

It had been nearly three days since Brunhilde had been taken to the palace. She was dreading this day, for this was the day she had to go tell all her closest friends that she could no longer see them outside of the castle. Which was fine, she supposed. They could make it work, but it would still be an adjustment. She got up and her outfit was sitting on the mannequin in her room as it was every morning. Today's torture device was a champagne colored dress with some lacy detailing on the upper part of the dress and halfway down her chest, pieces of tulle started to branch off so that it created the long elegant skirt. Two long pieces of tulle were attached to her shoulders so that they trailed behind her. It was a more casual look than the previous days, but still much nicer than anything she would have ever picked for herself.

The training arena was just off to the side of the castle, so it was fairly easy to get to. Two guards were trailing her. They were trying to be subtle about it, and failing horribly. On her way to the arena, she ran into Loki. "Good morning, Brunhilde," he said looking her up and down. "You look lovely today," he said. Brunhilde nodded, but did not stop walking. Loki noticed the guards behind her. He waved his hand a bit and shook his head and they dispersed. She looked behind her and then back at Loki. "Thank you," she said continuing her walk.

When she reached the training grounds, she was hit with a bit of nostalgia as she looked out across all of her friends training. She saw them fighting mercilessly. She knew what that felt like and missed it. One of her close teammates, Branka, caught her glimpse. Branka squinted at Brunhilde. She then proceeded to ask the woman next to her, who was her sister Brina, to look. This chain went on for several moments while Brunhilde sat on a bench while laughing at the plight of her friend. The women finally decided to come over to Brunhilde. They all had a look of disbelief on their sweating, windblown faces.

"Hey guys. Haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" she said in a honeyed and sarcastic tone. "Brun? Is that you?" piped up her friend Kathika. "Wonderful to see you too, Kath." Brunhilde said.

Kathika dropped the sword she had been holding and ran to embrace Brunhilde. "We've been asking the castle for almost a week what happened to you. We all thought you were imprisoned."

"I kind of was. Am. I kind of am." Brunhilde corrected. Kathika backed away with a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean? Hold on a moment. What are you wearing? And why is your hair like that?"

Now all of the women started asking questions. Brunhilde put her hands up and they got quiet. "I see that you have a lot of questions, and I can answer them all, but I need you to let me tell my story and then you can ask as many as you want. Now, a few days ago, I was chosen to be the queen of Asgard by the all father and soon to be king."

Brunhilde retold the story of her first day in the castle. How she was presented to the allfather and prince and how she was forced to a room and how she was told what to wear and what to do everyday. Her teammates eyes got wider with every word. She then had to explain the agreement. "The prince and I have agreed on this. I will get my own private training room where I will be able go whenever I want and where you will be able to visit and train with me if you choose, and I will act as just a regular... quiet and reserved queen in public. I am able to go into battle with you the instant you notify me of the need. And the real reason I am here is because part of the agreement is that no one except you will know that I am a Valkyrie. A queen who is also a high ranking warrior is a very good target for people trying to disrupt the crown. So I need you to deny it if anyone asks you if I am a member of your ranks. Can you do this?"

Almost all of the women nodded their heads. There was one in the back of the group who did not. Griselda. Brunhilde and Griselda had always been at odds with one another. Griselda always questioned Brunhilde. Griselda was a merciless warrior who's ambition drove her actions no matter what. When they were young, Brunhilde had called one of her decisions and had called it careless in front of the entire Valkyrior while they were discussing their strategy before a battle. Ever since, Griselda and Brunhilde butted heads in everything they did. They both were absolutely the type to hold grudges.

They now shared a scathing glare with one another. "Is there a problem Griselda?" Brunhilde asked. "Seems to me like you are asking us to help you turn your back on your sisters." she said. Brunhilde took a deep breath. "I am not in anyway doing so. I am trying my best to remain a part of our ranks. And if not what I am doing, than what? I am forced into everything at pearpoint. I cannot fight back against an armed person unarmed. And if I did fight back I would be tried for treason."

Griselda raised an eyebrow and turned to the others. "I believe that if you can't be in our ranks as a whole, you shouldn't be at all." And with that she walked away. All of the women turned back to her. Kathika put a hand on Brunhilde's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll protect you. Right ladies?" She turned to the others who nodded and then went back to training. A couple of Brunhilde's closest friends stayed around her.

One of her friends, named Lysandra, stepped up and asked, "So what's it like? Being a royal. Living in the castle." Brunhilde chuckled. "Exactly what it seems like. Everything is luxurious. I have whatever I want. Well, whatever I want as long as it's what the king and prince want me to want. I can't have weapons, except in the training room I will get. I can't have the clothes I want. But hey, wine is free. If I cannot be training, at least I can be drunk and keep the other half of my personality."

Her friends laughed with her. "And how is he? The prince I mean." asked a woman named Valda. Brunhilde thought for a moment about this. Loki was a complex person. In the throne room, he was a malicious and cruel ruler. But then she thought back to the several hours they had shared on the veranda. He was kind and thoughtful and a smart problem solver. She didn't think she would ever be able to like Loki because he was the cause of her capture and imprisonment, but he had tried to work with her to make sure her life wasn't Hel. He certainly hadn't had to do that, but he had. There was some honor there wasn't there?

After a while, Brunhilde responded with "He's the least bad person in that castle."

Her friends laughed. "Perhaps we should sit down and have tea with this fiance of yours," said Lysandra jokingly. All of them burst out laughing. The thought of them sitting together having proper tea was absurd to them. "You guys would get kicked out." Brunhilde said.

"Ugh. That reminds me. We're all required to attend the Autumn Banquet tomorrow evening. That means dressing up." complained Kathika. Brunhilde rolled her eyes. "Welcome to how I'll feel every morning for the rest of my life."