Unforeseen

Lord Frey and Lady Freya

"Oh do not worry. It is just unheard of for a mortal to be in the court of Asgard! It was quite a shock when we heard it!" Freya assured me, placing a perfectly manicured hand upon my shoulder in a sisterly gesture, seeming to notice my surprise. She then waved a hand towards her twin, "You see, my brother and I have only just returned to Asgard the other day and seemed to have missed the original meeting introducing you and the official order for your ladyship ceremony."

"Business does have a habit of taking one away at all the wrong moments. Seems we missed the fun and drama of your first arrival," Frey nodded his head before flashing a charming smile at me, "It is lovely to meet you, dear mortal lady."

"Indeed, it is a pleasure to meet the future lady of Asgard and caretaker to the Allfather." Freya agreed, speaking right after her brother. It was almost as if they were one mind, their speech bouncing off each other fluidly and hardly leaving an opening for me to say anything in reply.

"You're too kind." I blustered, unsure of what else to say to the stampede of their words. I felt like I was going to be trampled under their amiable chatter and their curious, eager eyes.

I felt a chill hand on my exposed shoulder and looked up to see Odin standing beside me, his face smiling in an almost fatherly way down at me. His eyes were soft, like he was trying to calm my flustered emotions as he spoke, bringing a sense of order back to the small dining hall, "My daughter-in-law is correct, you truly are kind to turn a meeting of business into a delightful meal and to invite the Lady Penelope along."

Lord Frey inclined his head to the Allfather, his manner returning to a more even-tempered courteousness as behooved such a high-ranking ambassador, "Well, business is best done on a satiated stomach."

"And of course we had to invite her." Lady Freya added, one of her hand's fingers fiddling with her magnificent, glittering necklace, "It is only polite to welcome the newest member of your court, Allfather, and besides, I am rather curious as to the woman who captured the wily dark prince's heart."

Dark prince? My eyes flicked onto the Allfather before they locked directly on Freya, "Did you know Loki?"

"Freya, you're being imprudent." Frey murmured, laying a warning hand on his sister's arm, offering the king and I an apologetic look mixed with his otherwise charismatic, warm smile.

I was momentarily confused by Frey's sudden somber warning and the way that Freya's slanted eyes flew open wide in some sort of realization before her whole countenance demurred. They looked at the Allfather and I in a familiar way. Theirs were glances of people who felt bad about the other person's loss. It was upon recognizing that look that I realized why the twins had sobered. They thought Loki was dead and bringing him up so flippantly to the dark prince's widowed-betrothed and the man who raised him had curbed their free curiosity since they supposed we were both still in mourning over the supposed loss. I offered them a small smile, trying to let them know that it was okay while also looking like I had a twinge of pain at the thought of my supposedly deceased fiancée.

"I do apologize. It is true that we wish to welcome you to the court and show our amiability to you, but I can hardly help my personal curiosity." Freya spoke in a more reverent way to me while trying to lighten up the mood that she thought she had doused with her thoughtless words. She tried to explain herself, though, her voice cheering up again as she looked directly at me with the eagerness of a child who just got their hands on their newest toy and they were eager to learn everything about it, "I have never actually met a mortal before and I have so many questions about Midgard and about you and your love story if you would be so kind as to share it with me!"

"But first, let us sit down for supper." Frey said, almost imperceptibly nudging his twin's side with his elbow before waving at the dining table.

"Ah yes, where are my manners?" Freya fluttered before her hostessing countenance fell upon her again and she started leading us to the table.