WEDDING DAY

CHAPTER ONE

The Offer

"They WHAT?!"

Thor's booming voice was reverberating on all the golden walls. Luckily, it was a private family reunion so no one was startled to hear the Thunder-god. Queen Frigga sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. Odin closed his eyes and sighed in turn. He understood his son's indignation but it was tiring and useless. Next to his fuming eldest, his youngest, Loki, had remained silent, arms behind his back, already thinking and scheming through this piece of news. Good. Odin was in no mood two placate two angry boys.

"How DARE they order us! Muspellheim is nothing compared to Asgard! They are our VASSALS! Who do they think they are, threatening us and telling us what to do?" Odin pinched his nose and felt the usual headache coming. Centuries later, his eldest was still an impetuous, bratty child. That made Odin wonder for the millionth time from whom came his temper? It couldn't be from his wise queen, Thor must have inherited it from Odin's fiery younger self.

"Son, the Fire Kingdom is one of our most trustworthy allies. They are not to be belittled particularly now that Sothorn, the Fire-King, and his wife are gone. Things have changed. To avoid a civil war, the Fire people elected a triumvirate with their three sons. Sodarn is king in his own rights but his two brothers, Senn and Surt, are his co-rulers. They are ambitious and greedy warriors, nothing like their peaceful father..."

Loki smirked. "There is a say in Muspellheim that the three of them are barely enough to make one whole brain." Frigga and Thor couldn't help but chuckle. Odin smiled in turn.

"Indeed, they are not the brightest minds in the Nine Realms but they remain too dangerous to be antagonized..." Odin rose from his throne, showing his son the piece of parchment that caused the ruckus. "If we don't renew our alliance on their terms, we are sure to start a war. And even if there are strong chances that we might win..."

Thor exploded "'Strong CHANCES'?! 'MIGHT win'?! Father! I cannot tolerate..." Thor was beating his chest and making excessive drama once again. "Son! Please, lower your voice!" said an exasperated Frigga "And let your father speak!" Thor stepped back, grunting. Odin frowned and went on. "There are strong chances, as I said, that we might win but it would be a long, bloody and costly war. The other option would be less damageable for the well-being of Asgard."

Thor stepped in again. "But, Father! They are selling their sister to us as if it was an honor for us to take her! As if we had no choice and should be thankful! I am not going to stand there and marry by force some..." Odin slammed his spear to the ground.

"ENOUGH! Thor, you will listen to me! The Fire Princess is the only legitimate royal daughter of Muspellheim and she is born of high linage. The dowry and other riches she could bring to Asgard might be exceptional. She is more than worthy to be the future queen of Asgard!" Thor lowered his eyes to the ground, beaten. Odin felt torn. His union with Frigga was born out of love, not necessarily made for political reasons. He had hoped to spare his sons the uncertainties of arranged marriages. And now, he had failed, at least for one of them. Thor was looking at his feet, obviously fuming. Odin and Frigga held their tears, looking at him pitifully. Loki was still mute, expressionless, staring at some vague point beyond the throne, apparently lost in thoughts. There was a long defeated silence. Then Loki's voice broke it.

"I'll do it."

The three of them looked at him dumbfounded, not sure they heard right. "What? You?" blabbered Thor. Loki took the parchment from his father's hands and pointed a line. "There. See? 'For she shall wed Odin's son.' They seem to have forgotten that they are TWO sons of Odin. They didn't specify which one the Princess should marry." Frigga looked at the runes and nodded to her divine husband, confirming the fact. Loki returned the parchment to the All-Father with his most unctuous smile. The one that predicted horrors to come.

"I do not like to be cast aside so casually. So, let's teach them a little lesson in protocol, shall we? The Fire Princess shall wed the second son of Odin instead of the first and they won't be able to protest. So, Asgard will be safe." He said that with a bright smile, as if all of this was only a good joke and not a life-changing decision. As if his happiness wasn't at stake. Odin eyed his carefree youngest. "Are you sure of this, Son?"

"I am, Father." Loki sounded confident enough but Odin doubted he realized what he was doing.

"You know it is no little thing to be done?"

"I know, Father."

"Of this, I am not as sure as you are. But I need you to be conscious of this. You know our laws. If you don't fancy her for some reason, you won't be able to get a divorce. Even a simple separation could lead us to war."

"I am conscious of that, Father." Odin simply nodded, hoping that the little faltering note in son's voice was just his worrying imagination.

On this, Odin dismissed the party and Frigga and him returned to their quarters. Only Thor and Loki remained. Thor smiled nastily.

"I am no fool, Brother." He said sarcastically. "Now, now, of course you aren't." Answered Loki playfully. "I know what you are plotting. You want me to be in your debts indefinitely." Loki laughed. "My, Brother. How suspicious you are of my brotherly affections!" Thor laughed in turn but a little aggressively. "You are the fool, Brother! Do you realize that you made a very dangerous bet? If you fail, you have everything to lose!" Loki smiled his dangerous smile. "Then, at least, I'll have the pleasure of knowing that you owe me, Brother." Thor scoffed and went away.

"And the fact that I am getting married to a fortune before YOU, Brother!" He sang joyfully to Thor's back. Even if it was true enough, that last comment was said only to annoy his too brilliant older brother.

But deep inside, in the darkest, unknown places of his heart, the hidden parts he wouldn't admit even to himself under torture, one thought remained, an echo, a bare unconscious whisper.

"And maybe I'll be less lonely..."

As Odin predicted to himself, after discovering who the Princess would marry after all, negotiations went harder than expected.

King Sodarn and Princes Senn and Surt were indeed not pleased at all, giving their only sister away to a second son. But, curiously, they simply waved the news with a gesture and went on to discuss the dowry, the ceremony and such. Odin found it a little odd. Had he a sister to give away and not to the presumed groom, he would have made a thorough research and demanded a full report on the new pretender, if only to soothe said sister. Like any caring brother should instead of starting a fight about trivia like precedences in the bridal parade to the sacred temple and the color of napkins! They had no need to make inquiries about the Mighty Thor but Loki was less renown. Furthermore, they didn't even ask for a portrait of the fiance for their sister to behold, as was the custom in such dealings. Odin had one ready but hesitated to remind them, cautious not to start a difficult discussion. Consequently, he would have no semblance of the Fire Princess to show his son. That was annoying.

He took his time observing the three brothers. They were almost identical with their tall shape and their red hair. But then, all the Fire people were red-haired, hence partly their name. Their only differences were in their clothes and jewelery, their complicated hairdos and beards. They were indeed handsome and painfully reminded Odin of his old friend, King Sothorn, and his brave wife, Queen Sigern. Indeed, they were a dashing couple, renown for their talent as strong and wise rulers. But Odin came quickly to the conclusion that those three were just pompous morons.

"I recall another popular say in Muspellheim" Loki laughed when his father told him the scene. "That the three brothers may have inherited the glamor of their parents but their sister had all the brains." Odin laughed in turn but still was worried. "At least, if you don't fancy her, you two won't lack for subjects of conversation." Loki smiled but this time, halfheartedly.

In fact, the date of the wedding drew closer, reality was beginning to dawn on the Trickster. His brother and father might be right, he might have made a big mistake after all.

Truth was that Loki, contrary to Thor, had little interest in matters of the heart and flesh. When they became young adults, Thor and him, enticed by their little group of merry warrior-friends, had both their first experience in the secrecy of a tavern renown for casual encounters. Male and female warriors who went there looked for brief meetings, no string attached. Loki's first was a blonde-haired shapely Valkyrie who was older than he was. It was not unsavory but it left him dubious about the utility of such actions. What he had felt was not groundbreaking to say the least. He then had a second affair, this time with a muscled soldier but, there too, it was worth a try but not worth remembering. He stopped looking for something that simply wasn't there.

On the same time, Thor was indulging himself in a long string of lovers he left, heartbroken, in his silage. Loki found it a waste of time to be surrounded by superficial relationships that indeed started with pleasure but ended to be constant burdens. Also, surprisingly, Loki believed that giving people false hopes was a little cruel and mostly stupid. Loki could lie for many things and manipulate everyone but he preferred honesty concerning sex. Better a successful one-night encounter that ended in a good way than this constant bother of entertaining clingy, whiny male and female lovers, like Thor had the tendency to do. Oh, well. Thor was a whore for attention, Loki thought snidely.

But lately, Loki felt like a knot in his stomach. His father's apprehensions were disturbing. Whoever the mysterious princess was, he was sure to gain enough control over her not to be too much bothered, if their relationship went tedious.

But on the other hand, he was still hoping for something else, something that would make this whole farce meaningful...