The Experimental Avenger

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen- Unexpected Meetings

The bridge was like nothing I had ever seen. I walked on a river of colors and light that flowed under my feet, yet it was a solid surface. The stream of what seemed to be a liquid rainbow reacted to my steps. The colors swarmed to where my feet touched the surface of the bridge. It was like nothing I had ever seen.

"The bridge doesn't do that for just anyone. You are special, my dear princess." Thor smiled at me the way a proud father would. I smiled back and continued to watch my feet. There were colors I had never even seen before, and I had no way to describe them in our words.

"I am not speaking of the way the colors follow you there. Look back." I did as my father instructed. What I saw made me gasp.

The colors that had gathered at my feet formed swirls that matched the markings I had in my Jotun form. They faded as I got further away from them, dispersing back into their natural flow.

I walked the rest of the way to the golden city backwards. Thor chuckled at my antics, but I didn't care. The twisting beams of bright color and light were enchanting to watch. My father eventually joined me and we walked backwards together. The royalty of Asguard entering their kingdom on foot and facing the wrong way probably wasn't the most distinguished way to go through the gates. But it's not like the citizens of the city could criticize their future rulers.

We entered the city, and as we continued the journey through the streets to the castle, numerous people stopped us to speak with Thor. They all placed their right hand in a fist to their left shoulder and gave a slight bow of the head before speaking. I figured it was a sign of respect.

I got to meet a lot of people and the more I met, the more out of place I felt. They all had some sort of armor or metal on their clothing and I had a baggy t-shirt. They all compared me to my father, saying how much I looked like him. At least my hair color looked like him and that was about half of what identified him.

I lost count of how many people stopped us. At this rate it was going to take over an hour to get to Thor's home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Woah."

That was all I could say. I had no idea how they had done it. I really looked like a princess and I loved it.

I usually hated dressing up and looking fancy, but there was something about how the soft blue fabric fell in shimmering waves to my feet. The dress really seemed to just be different pieces of fabric wrapped around me. It was simple, but elegant and made me look older than just fourteen.

There were bits of armor here and there too. The gold shoulder pieces that secured the dress to me and the belt that hung loosely at my waist were engraved with intricate designs. Chain-mail type fingerless gloves covered my hands. I wore matching gold earrings that held sapphire gems and sparkled brightly.

I was never into shoes, ever. They were things that I put on my feet. These were different. The gold material formed high heels that then went on to wrap around my legs all the way to my knees. They were tight enough to not be noticed through the dress, like boots, but they weren't fully enclosed. They looked like something out of a fairy tale, but I guess they were.

My hair was curled, but it seemed even longer than normal. My eyes seemed brighter than they usually were as well, but no traces of makeup could be found anywhere on my face. A simple gold crown rested on my head. No jewels or other fancy objects covered the crown. I liked it that way.

"Well, I see you made it to Asguard. The last time I was here I was in prison." No one else was visible in the full length mirror, but when I turned away from the glass a familiar figure stood behind me.

"Hello Loki." I dared to look into his eyes and didn't let my fear show. His smirk was unsettling.

"Ah, such formality. I suppose it is to be expected from a princess. You look lovely, if I may say so." It was an empty complement. He was trying to make conversation and just when I thought he had stopped trying to screw up my life I was proved wrong.

"Now, I'm here to discuss that little trick you pulled with my brother. You are not to speak of my appearances to anyone. Your friends on the plane thought you were delusional and refused to trust their eyes. The people here will not be as willing to cast off what you see. If you tell anyone else about me you will pay with the things you love most." He was about a yard from me, but I could feel the cold air that came from his presence.

"You can't hurt me. I have nothing close enough to me for you to use my love against me now." I had to conceal my weaknesses. If he believed that he couldn't hurt me then he wouldn't try to. He laughed mockingly at me and his smile grew wider. Two could play at this game.

"What about all those dear friends you left behind the day you murdered that man? The people who raised you are close to your heart as well, no matter how hard you try to deny it. You pity animals and if you could no longer sing it would be the death of you. I know much more about you than you would think. You truly have a beautiful voice too, it's a shame that you only like to sing for yourself." I felt my straight face and cold exterior crumble as he spoke. My mouth fell open while my mind was grasping for how he could have known so much.

"What do you want? Why are you here?" I quickly turned hostile, a sharp edge to my voice. "There is always a reason when you see me, you wouldn't waste your time otherwise." He held his hands up in response.

"You know me well already! Whether you want to or not, you are going to make a friend today and take them back to Midguard with you. Am I clear?" He was forcing me to have people I cared about, things to weigh me down. Such simple things as friendship, he had twisted into his dark and sinister game.

"Yes." I looked down at the floor and played with my gloves. I'd never been the type of person to stab someone else in the back and I could feel that I was going to be forced to do exactly that.

"Wonderful. Now I believe you have a kingdom to meet. Fair well, princess." The way he spat out the last word showed just how much hatred he kept inside of him. Would he unleash it on me? I didn't want to know.

And it was directly after that and in that mood that I got to meet a literal castle full of people at a party meant for me. What could go wrong, right?