A/N the picture above is the dress Aria was wearing in this chapter
Word Count: 1837
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Aria sat on the cream colored ottoman that sat at the foot of the canopy bed in her chambers. Holding the hilt of her sword in one hand, whilst dragging a cloth, sodden with cleaner, up and down the sharp blade, removing the black goo-like blood and guts from the remains of the battle with the Frost Giants.
The Princess removed her hand from the hilt momentarily to push a few stray pieces of hair that fell into her line of vision behind her ear, before returning her hand back to the silver and black leather hilt.
The goddesses bed was made, the white and cream sheets ironed to perfection, tucked underneath the frame. The plush velvet pillows on display at the head of the bed, matching the white mesh fabric that lined the top of the canopy bed, draped over the edges.
Aria had changed out of her under armour once she returned to her room, exchanging them for a loose, floor length, long sleeved white, cream and light blue mesh gown, finished with small gold and silver flowers and charms across the shoulders, back, chest and down one side of her hip.
The princess had already showered briefly, getting rid of all the blood and sweat from the battle before. Her hair once knotted and ashy, now wavy and silky, smelling of vanilla with a hint of jasmine compared to the smell of sweat, winter wasteland and Frost Giant blood that the princess scented of beforehand.
The warrior lifted up her now clean iron sword to be in her line of sight, surveying her job well done. Looking in her reflection from the perfectly cleaned silver, Aria took note of the exhaustion that etched her features, of which no amount of showers could erase.
Closing her eyes momentarily with a sigh, the goddess picked up her black leather sheath before covering her sword, her prized possession, before standing up.
She brushed down her gown a few times before she moved to her armor stand. Throwing her hair behind her shoulders, she unclipped the belt of her sheath and moved to wrap it around the stand when the door to her chambers bursted open.
Unsheathing her sword at the speed of thunder, the goddess turned around and held her sword up to her assailant's neck, only to lower her weapon immediately at the sight of her clearly distressed brother.
His eyes were red and puffy, tear stained cheeks were flushed a small shade of pink in contrast to his usually pale skin. His hair slightly disheveled, or as disheveled as it could be being gelled down. His normally vibrant emerald green eyes were slightly paler than normal, his eyes radiating betrayal and mistrust.
Aria gasped at the sight of her distraught brother, "Loki? By Odin's beard! Are you alrig-"
"Did you know?" The god cut Aria off almost immediately, voice cracking slightly towards the end, staring straight at her, surveying her body language and shift in demeanor. You cannot lie to the god of mischief and lies.
Aria furrowed her eyebrows, "know what?" the goddess sheathed her sword and put it on her bed, not losing eye contact with her brother, before taking a small step towards him, "Loki what's going on?"
The god's eyes began to glaze over with tears, unable to detect any lies in the goddesses words. Taking in a sharp breath, Loki opened his mouth to begin explaining, but no words came out.
Aria looked up at her brother in shock, the gods' normally silver tongue went sandpaper dry, no words coming from his usually snarky mouth.
Aria pulled her lips into a thin line. Without a word, the princess moved forwards, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck, bringing him down slightly to match her height.
Not wasting another second, the god wrapped his arms around the woman's smaller frame, allowing his head to drop into the crook of her neck, his chest shaking from trying to hold in tears.
Using one hand, Aria pat her brothers head softly and with the other she rubbed between her brothers shoulder blades,
"It's okay" she soothed as she flicked her wrist, causing a gust of cold air to close the doors to he chambers, giving her brother the assurance he needed to take down the facade he put up
"I'm a monster" the raven haired whispered, barely audibly, into the woman's shoulder
Feeling a small wet streak travel down her neck, Aria knew her brother was crying. The phrase that left her brothers chapped lips earning tears to burn at her own eyes.
Aria pulled back from the hug, gripping her brother's shoulder with one hand and turning his cheek so their eyes met with the other, "Loki, you are no monster. Why ever would you say that?"
Loki's sadness began to reform into the anger that sent his father into Odinsleep. Furrowing his eyebrows at his former sister, he took a small step back,
"Tell me, sister, when we were children and father told us the story of the monstrous Frost Giants, tell me, we're you or were you not afraid of them?" he demanded in a low voice, wavering ever so slightly
Aria looked at her brother baffled, "Why in the nines are you bringing this up now? What of its importance?"
"Just answer the question, Aria." the god rushed, wanting to hear her say it.
"Well of course I was Loki, you were too! We were children. It's just as that midgardian saying of the monsters in the closet." she snapped, annoyed with her brother and why they were talking around the subject of his distress,
"my fear for them is no longer existent- we just fought them earlier today, did you miss that?" she asked rhetorically, watching as her brothers expression changed into one of confirmation
"They lied." Loki stated simply, looking out the window over Aria's shoulder, not meeting her gaze
The change in demeanor and conversation baffled the princess, "wha- who lied?"
Upon receiving no answer, the princess took Loki's hand in hers, immediately furrowing her eyebrows when he ripped his own hand from hers. Tears began gathering in her eyes as she looked up at her raven haired brother,
"Brother--"
"I'm not your brother." the god snapped, severing his stone cold gaze to the goddess.
His face contorted into one of regret for a brief moment as he watched the goddess look up at her brother with such sadness, a single tear travelling down her porcelain skin
"What?" was all she managed to crack out shakily, almost near whisper
"The casket wasn't the only thing Odin took from Jotunheim that day."
Aria was rendered speechless. Her sadness and anger for her brother directed fully at their father. Her head felt like it was spinning, all time felt like it simply stopped as she attempted to process this new information. Aria looked up questioningly at the god she will always refer to as her brother.
Seeming to understand he muttered the answer to her unanswered question, "Laufeyson"
Aria's eyes widened slightly, "Laufeyson?..." she whispered
Loki nodded solemnly, still not meeting the goddesses gaze
Loki had to take a few steps back as he did not anticipate the weight of the goddess to be thrown at him. He expected the woman to never speak nor look at him again
"I don't care where you're from, or what your parentage is. Loki, you will always, always be my and Thor's brother. I will never stop fighting by your side, I will never stop loving you for who you really are, and I will never, ever look at you in fear. You are my brother, blood or not. You are my family. Our family. Your parentage will never change that. Ever. Do you hear me?" The princess stated determindley from her brothers shoulder
Loki's eyes began to burn once again as he felt cold tears begin to stream down his face. No one had ever said such words to him. Only now was he realizing how lucky he was to have his sister.
Aria, not knowing her brother was lost in thought, pulled back upon receiving no answer, cupping her brother's face in her hands, glaring up at him determindley with her tear stained face.
"Do you hear me?" she emphasised
Not trusting his voice to answer without wavering or cracking, he simply gave a watery smile and nodded
Aria allowed herself to smile, reaching up to kiss her brothers cheek before moving her hands to rest on his forearms
"I know I will never know how you feel, and I will never understand your pain, all I know is" the princess took a shaky breath, "I would never have kept that from you if I knew, I would never want to hurt you." she emphasised to make sure her brother understood.
Loki stared at his sister, his own eyes overflowing with tears, his heart nearly shattering at how accepted he felt in this moment. Hating that he finally felt the love and comfort he was deprived of, he quickly rubbed the tears from his eyes and sniffed.
"Your fathers in Odinsleep. When he-"
"I don't care" she cut her brother off, earning a look from the god in question, "He's part of the reason you're in this pain. I don't want to visit father right now" she stated as if it was the most obvious things in the world, eyes burning with unshed tears, "I just want you to be okay" she sighed
A tear made its way down his cheek, "how do you always manage to make me feel better, sister"
Aria and Loki shared a watery laugh, the goddess smile a little brighter after hearing Loki call her his sister
"I take after mother I suppose?" she laughed
Loki smiled at his sister before embracing her, feeling all his worries about his biological father and his plan just melt away.
"Your not alone you know" Aria reminded as they separated, "besides now I have a friend like me" she smirked as she conjured up some snowflakes in either hand, causing her eyes to shine an icy blue
Loki smirked at his sister, "oh, the trouble we would have caused"
The two siblings shared a little laugh before deciding to find their mother and father. Because now that all was well with Loki, they still cared about their father.
The two gods linked arms before making their way down the golden hallways of Asgard's palace, awaiting to see the King in a vulnerable deep sleep.
Unbeknownst to Aria, all while she shared a sweet bonding moment with her raven haired brother, her blonde one was receiving a goodbye.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───