The Chosen Bride

The Autumn Banquet

Loki looked into the mirror to see a face he barely recognized. The Autumn Banquet was starting in less than an hour. He was dressed in his best clothes. His gold plated armor and green cape and shining helmet made him look like a king. When he looked in the mirror, he did not see what he'd always seen. He no longer saw a prince. He saw a king. That was what he'd always wanted. Yet somehow, he did not feel fulfilled. He didn't feel disappointed in any way. It just felt bitter sweet in some way. He couldn't put his finger on what though.

The large doors to his room opened and he saw the silhouette of Brunhilde. She stepped into the light and he saw her. She stood there in her golden dress. It was not the dress she had been wearing the first time he'd seen her, but it was similar. It was made of a tan fabric, but there were massive amounts of gold detailing over it. Little woven strands of gold criss crossed all over her. The top on the dress had a golden pattern in a sort of burst shape, but the lower half of detailing had more of a zig-zag about it. She had a green shawl over her shoulders. A gold headpiece with a green jewel hanging down off of it adorned her hair which was in an intricate updo. Her gaze was on the floor.

"I look ridiculous," she said, smiling at herself. Loki walked over to her. He put the tip of his knuckle on her chin to pull it up. "You look lovely," he said softly. She grinned just the slightest bit. She took a deep breath. "Are you ready?" she asked.

They both knew neither of them would ever be ready. A guard peered into the room. "It's time," he said. The two looked at each other as the doors opened. Loki grasped Brunhilde's hand and held it up so that it would be seen when they walked in that they were together. Brun wasn't very fond of this idea, but there was no time to fight it now because the doors to the dining hall were opening. Loki grabbed his scepter and nodded to Brunhilde. They held their heads high as light streamed onto their faces. A loud and silvery-sounding trumpet sounded.

A loud voice boomed, "And now, the future king and queen of Asgard, Loki and Brunhilde Odinson."

Neither Loki or Brun were expecting the last names to be read that way. They made eye contact. Brunhilde wore an angered expression on her face. Loki shook his head a little bit, but she just stared ahead. They looked across the many subjects in the hall as the people parted a path for them. Brunhilde saw all of her friends looking at her, most of them smiling. Some of the older women put their hands to their chests. "Isn't she beautiful?" they'd whisper to one another. Brunhilde was doing her best to not look as uncomfortable as she felt. The hall was silent as the two walked up to the throne with two adjacent chairs on either side of it. Loki dropped her hand and they parted to sit in their chairs. They sat down, all of Asgard's eyes on them.

The loud voice announced Odin and was met with applause. He entered and sat on his throne. He then made a speech about the importance of the Autumn harvest, which Brunhilde paid hardly any attention to. Only when their names were said did they start listening.

"...And we are so happy to welcome this young woman into our palace and into our family. Loki and you make a wonderful pair."

Loki had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Brunhilde saw Kathika laugh in the crowd and could barely hold in a laugh. Instead she smiled a fake smile at Odin and remained quiet. She felt muzzled and bitter.

"Now everyone, enjoy the feast!" Odin bellowed. Asgard cheered, and then the food and drinks were brought out. Brunhilde asked for wine as soon as she could. A glass was promptly brought to her. Odin leaned toward her and gestured for Loki to come near as well. "You may explore the party, but you must do it together." he said. Looked over at Brunhilde. "Shall we?"

"Let's."

He reached for her hand and she reluctantly took the offer. They started to walk around. "I am so sorry about the names. I had no idea that would happen. Odinson isn't even my last-"

"It's fine. We can talk about it later." she said. She was already in a bad enough mood without talking about the future of her last name. Right now, she was more focused on finding her friends. She did eventually find them. All of her close friends were standing around each other. Valkyrior all drunk like it was the end of the world all the time, so an event where the booze was free meant that this was pretty much all they did the entire party. When they saw Brunhilde, their faces lit up. "Brun! So glad to see you." Kathika said. She then appeared to notice Loki was with her. Her expression went sour. Loki seemed to notice and laughed quietly.

"Ah yes. I don't believe any of you have met properly yet," said Brunhilde. "Ladies, this is Loki. Loki these are Kathika, Lysandra, Brina, Branka, and Hedvika." Loki nodded to all of them. "Hello, ladies. Nice to meet you all. Brunhilde has said nothing but good things."

Her friends all laughed. "Thank you, your royal highness." said Lysandra. There were a few awkward moments before Loki said, "I'm going to go get some wine. Would you like another glass for yourself?"

"Yes thanks." Brunhilde responded, handing him her cup. He nodded and left for a moment. All of her friends looked at her smiling. "Oh, do stop it." Brunhilde said. They all laughed. "You are unusually nice to him!" Kathinka said. Brunhilde rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I was not."

"Yes you were." they all said in unison and then burst out laughing.

"He may seem nice, but I think he's too ambitious to be a king," said one of the girls. There was a bit of uncomfortable silence. They all knew it was true. Loki returned a few moments later with their drinks and they started talking again. The night had just begun, and Brunhilde was already becoming weary.