The golden sun matched the delicate chains that decorated my white-blonde hair. The smoothly paved cobblestone let out a high-pitched click as the small heel of my felt shoes walked across its surface. Birds chirped happily above me and I stared in wonder as they flew in circles, darting in and out of grand oaks, their leaves as green as ever.
A pleasant smile never left my face once the sweet scent of peonies filled the crisp and golden air around me.
The gardens of Asgard were never busy. Perhaps because only the royalty of Asgard could visit them and no one in the castle made time to visit them except for me. My brothers would on occasion but this was a daily ritual for me. Mother says it's good to have those.
After walking down the unpaved gravel paths for a while, I came across my favorite bench. Its wooden surface was dark with polish and gold wrapped around the back and across the handles like a rich vine.
I sat on the polished wood and stared at the familiar sight in front of me, letting my skirt billow out around my legs. Six trees were planted in a neat row, all growing at different heights.
The middle two were the tallest, at equal heights. They were planted after my parent's wedding. Its branches were thick and bountiful with fresh leaves. The roots made the ground rise in dangerous knots. Next to the tree on the right were two shorter, but not small, trees. They symbolized my brothers. The two smaller trees on the left were of my sister and me.
There was a gap between my oldest sister, Angela, and the grand oak that symbolized my mother. I've always wondered why there was such a large space. Maybe the soil wasn't fertile enough to plant a tree in that spot.
"Astrid," A deep hushed voice whispered from my right. My hands flinched in panic even once I'd realized it was a friend. "Lord, your father will kill you if he knows you're out here," Heimdall said with harshness. It took a while to realize that he wasn't being rude when he spoke like this. It was just his way to show concern.
"What time is it?" I asked, looking towards the sun to see where its position was in the clear blue sky.
"Too late for you to be out here," He gently regarded. The sun had begun to set and I hadn't even realized it. The pink of the sun shone through the horned helmet that Heimdall was required to wear as a watchman.
I shrugged and stood up. "Well, then it means it's too late for you to be out here as well," I scoffed sarcastically.
"Your mother sent me to find you. You're lucky your father hasn't found out you aren't with your brothers yet." I nodded at this point. "At least you're dressed and ready." I kept my head pointed down towards my golden fabric shoes. When I stood, the thick fabric of my black gown covered them completely. A warm hand draped across my shoulder. "You are ready, yes?"
My shoulders, which were covered in pads that resembled golden dragon scales, came up and then fell, the bodice of my dress moving tightly around my waist. "Yeah, I'm happy for Thor." Even I could hear the hesitation and the words left unsaid in my voice. Heimdall didn't pry, however.
My eldest brother was getting crowned King of Asgard today.
If you had asked a younger version of me how I would feel, I would've been ecstatic for him. But younger me didn't know that in preparation for his coronation, he would hardly speak to me for years. His nose was always buried in our father's lessons and his focus was always on weapons training.
Now, if he becomes King, his attention will be on an entire realm plus eight others. I tried telling myself I really didn't care and that I understood what he was going through. That was the first lie I told myself.
When we were younger, Thor, Loki, and I would have weekly picnics in these gardens. We would eat grapes and drink fresh juices from the village. As we grew older, those picnics became an every-other-week thing. Then monthly. Finally, Loki and I agreed to just have them without Thor. It took a while to adjust to the empty space on the quilt where Thor would sit but Loki and I moved on from it. That was the second lie I told myself.
Heimdall's arm dropped from my shoulder as we reached the front of the Grand Hall. I savored how the setting sun looked as more vibrant colors began to paint the sky.
Heimdall and I walked into the building. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting after having been outside for so long.
Light from the candles danced in harmony across the old stone walls. It was rare for me to be in this part of the palace but I could still navigate it with my eyes closed. Years of hide and seek with my mother taught me all the nooks and crannies of our castle.
I hadn't even noticed how far away Heimdall had gone until he seemingly appeared out of nowhere carrying a silver object. I didn't recognize it until Heimdall placed it in the palm of my hand.
It was Thor's helmet. Wings were carved into the heavy metal. I stared at it for a long few seconds and my head began to spin. This was really happening.
"You'd think the heir to the throne would be a little less forgetful," Heimdall muttered with a small sense of comicness.
I quickly made the lamentable expression on my face perk up before Heimdall noticed. "You'd think," I joked along with him. I shifted the object in my hands awkwardly. "Well, I'm sure everyone's waiting for you," I said, breaking the silence.
He nodded. "Your brothers are through there," He pointed to a single door that I'm sure was the side entrance to the room they were waiting in. No rooms in this palace have anything less than large double doors for their main way in. "I've got to get back to the Bifrost-"
"You're not coming to the coronation?" I interrupted quickly.
"No, I have to honor and protect the throne-"
"Nope," I interrupted again. "Today is a day celebrating the throne. Your duty to honor is to come and watch the coronation."
A smile carved its way onto his face, making one grow on mine. "Fine, I'll try to blend into the crowd."
I wrapped my arms around him and he tightened the hug. His hands were cold against the open back of my dress. "Good luck, kid," He said above my head. I'm not sure why I needed the luck but I took it anyway and thanked him.
He sent a small wave in my direction and I waved back. He disappeared down a dark hallway so I took a deep breath and walked towards the door.
From behind the wooden door, I could hear the voices of my brothers but I couldn't exactly make out what they were saying.
I pushed the old door open and the smell of a fireplace washed over me. My slender hand is decorated with rings that have been passed down to all the women in our family. I treasured every single last one but I never wore them except for special occasions in fear of losing them.
My brother's voices stopped once my footsteps became audible to them.
The room was large but old pillars made it seem small. There truly wasn't a point for this room other than where you waited to walk out into the large ballroom. This was the room where you stood anxiously waiting.
Long silk curtains fell from the ceiling to the floor in graceful patterns as if they were the wings of a stage.
"Forgetting something?" I asked snarkily as I walked out of the cover of the curtains that lined the main hallway.
My brothers turned to look at me but their faces quickly dropped as I held out the silver helmet. I remembered how I had felt when Heimdall had first handed me the helmet. My face fell too.
Thor took the helmet and his jaw clenched. He was scared. His blue eyes looked everywhere except for the helmet as if this carved piece of silver terrified him.
"Ooo," Loki said, attempting to soothe the tension that had quickly engulfed all three of us. "Nice feathers."
Thor chuckled looking at me, shaking his head in amusement before turning to Loki. "You don't really want to start this again, do you, cow?" He jabbed towards the large helmet on Loki's head that curved upwards.
"I've always thought they resembled snakes, for some reason," I added.
"Oh, hush, dragon," Thor mocked the shoulder pads that looked duller in the candlelight.
I sneered at him before shoving him lightly, getting a small laugh out of him.
"I was being sincere," Loki said, pulling us back to the original conversation.
Thor deadpanned at him. "You are incapable of sincerity," He said blankly. Even though I knew it was supposed to be jokingly, the feeling that radiated off of Loki made me bite the inside of my cheek.
"Am I?" Loki snarked back at him. Hidden in the small sentence, however, was a true tone of questioning.
"Yes." I felt myself shrinking, wanting to walk away from this conversation.
Loki took a deep breath and faced our brother. "I've looked forward to this day as long as you have." I refused to look deeper into the words even though I knew I could have. But not knowing was peace. "My brother, my friend," He paused in his words for only a second. "And sometimes, I'm envious. But never doubt that I love you. We both do," He said motioning to me.
Thor looked back at me and I shifted my demeanor quickly and smiled. "Always," I said. And that wasn't a lie. I did love my brother but I wanted to spend time with him more than just at dinner every night.
He pulled me and Loki into a bear hug and I melted into it quickly. "Thank you," Thor said as we stepped back from the hug.
"Now give us a kiss," Loki said jokingly which got him a punch to the stomach.
"Stop it," Thor said with a laugh.
The three of us stood in a line, staring at the golden-arched double door in front of us. The look Thor glanced at his helmet didn't go unnoticed by me.
"Really, how do I look?" He asked without looking at me or Loki. I smiled at the phrase. As kids, when all three of us were in the nursery still, we would always play dress-up. He never believed me that he looked nice in my jewelry and bows.
"Like a king," I responded.
Now, he looked at me and nodded. I didn't need to use the gifts I had to know that he was nervous.
Thor, the God of Thunder, is nervous.
"It's time," Loki said from beside Thor.
"You two go ahead," Thor responded. Loki and I looked at Thor with the same confused expression. "I'll be along, go on," He motioned to the door slightly with his hammer that he clutched in his right hand.
Loki and I stepped forward to the doors. Behind those doors is a very small room where two guards stand beside another set of double doors, ready to open them for you. And behind those? A crowd of citizens from the village and my parents.
Loki held one of the doors for me and I entered the last and final room we'd have to wait in. The door closed gently behind him, despite the door being impossibly large. He stood on my left.
If the royal guards weren't standing in front of us like statues, I would've told Loki that I was dreading today too. What he said to Thor was more for Thor's benefit than either of ours. That's how it always was.
Always catered to Thor's benefit.
Who cared what the daughter had to say or what the adopted son wanted to do? No matter what, if Thor had a son, no matter how old, that kid would have more say than Loki or I. Maybe that's why my sister left all those years ago, refusing to have anything to do with the throne.
The throne was biased.
Loki held his arm out for me to take and I looped my arm through his. He smiled down at me and I returned it.
He then nodded towards the guards, letting them know that we were ready. They marched to the door handles, their spotless armor clanking along with them. I could see the strain it took to open the heavy metal door but they pulled it open nonetheless.
Loki and I stepped forward as the ballroom started to slowly be uncovered by the doors. The room was packed but it was still very neat and precise. Nobody had a foot out of line.
The two of us started down the large staircase in front of us. The crowd erupted into a flurry of encouragement and cheers at the sight of their Prince and Princess walking into the same room as them. Loki and I waved at the people who surrounded us. No rope held them back but they respected us enough to stay away from our space.
I tried not to let my features falter when my father stood to greet us as we walked up. He sat on a throne that, with the amount of gold that decorated it, could feed thousands of realms for years.
A staircase led up to where the throne was. On the right side of the stairs were familiar faces. The Warriors Three: Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. They were all wearing their best furs. On the Left, Sif was at the bottom of the stairs, and my mother was at the top.
As Loki shook my father's hand, for show more than anything, I walked over to my mother. She embraced me in a warm hug.
"You look gorgeous, dear," She complimented even though she'd seen me in this last night at the rehearsal coronation. Everyone says I resemble my mother, luckily not my father. She wore long earrings with large raw topaz stones at the bottom. It seemed that same stone had been sewn in patterns along her floor-length gown and cloak. She's always loved Topazes.
My eyes were a warm topaz color and she never fails to mention how envious she is of them. I was never sure why. Her eyes are like mine, only darker.
I took my place beside her and Loki stood next to me.
It didn't take long until the crowd erupted into more cheers. If I thought the crowd had cheered as hard as they could for me and Loki, I was clearly mistaken.
Nothing could be heard over the screaming that ensued when Thor walked out of the doors.
It was strange seeing how confident Thor was when he was only a shell a few moments ago. He controlled the crowd with conviction as he twirled his hammer and flashed smiles at everyone.
Thor made his way to the front but instead of walking up the stairs, he had to kneel in front of them. He placed his hammer on the ground and took off the silver helmet he feared, placing it in front of him honorably. His blonde hair danced over his shoulders.
He looked up at us and sent a wink toward Sif but she hadn't seen him. My mother had, though, and she sent him a glare that made him correct his posture quickly. I held in a laugh.
My father rose from his golden throne, his red cape falling down his back. He raised the golden staff and jabbed it towards the ground so it made a loud sound that shuddered through the entire room.
Everyone quickly quieted, waiting in anticipation. The silence made everyone hold their breath, waiting to chant the words Long Live The King.
"Thor Odinson," My father starts, his voice gruff with age. "My heir." I look down at my feet, savoring the words as if they had been said to me. How I ached for those words to be said to me. But I was a princess and that wasn't in the cards for us.
"My firstborn." He was lying. Angela was the eldest. Why did he need the entire kingdom to forget about her? "So long entrusted with the mighty hammer Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, its power has no equal..." His words slowly begin to fade from my ears as a chill runs up my spine.
Suddenly, I start to blink in and out of consciousness, my powers begging to be let loose. I suck in a sharp breath when my chest starts constricting.
I feel a hand grab mine and I stare down to see Loki looking at me, concern flickering in his greenish-blue eyes.
You alright? He mouths. I nod quickly but I flinch, squeezing Loki's hand tighter.
That's when the unrecognizable feeling becomes recognizable. It was the feeling of fear I felt as a child. I clutched onto my brothers as my father read us stories of past battles he's fought. It was the nightmare that everyone in the castle had for weeks because I hadn't learned how to control the power I had. I'd forced them all to feel the fear I felt and I didn't even know I was doing it.
That was the night I became Astrid, the Goddess of Dreams. That was then night we realized I had the power of manipulation.
The feeling was cold and dangerous. Somehow I just knew. They were here. Why hadn't Heimdall stopped them-
Heimdall was in the crowd, not at the Bifrost. I had forced him here.
I glanced at Loki and the fear in my eyes was reflected in his. I ripped my hand away from him, the warmth disappearing, as the room became downright cold. No one else around me was shaking from the cold but I felt my nose and the tips of my ears go numb.
I picked my head up, locking my eyes on my father.
"Do you swear to guard the nine realms?" He asks Thor. Thor quickly swears. I look between my brother and father. If I interrupt my father, he'll have my head but he'd also have my head if he finds out I said nothing. I needed to say something.
I found that my feet had been glued to the floor below me. The more I thought about talking to my father, the more I stepped away from the idea. I was stuck in quicksand.
My mom had shifted her head to look at me, noticing the small movements I was making.
Her eyes softened when they met mine. She saw the fear. She understood and then nodded her head towards my father. She didn't know what I needed to say but she knew it was important enough.
Her encouragement was all I needed to take that first step. After the first, the rest came easy. It would look stupid to turn back now.
"Do you swear-"
"Father," I interrupted. My heart fell when he didn't even look at me. He kept talking as if I was just a fly buzzing in his ear.
"To cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realm?" Why was he doing this? He knew that I wouldn't have interrupted him unless it was important.
"I swear!" Thor shouts.
"Then on this day,"
"Father." I still kept my voice low but with a bit more urgency.
"I, Odin Allfather,"
My patience was quickly leaving. This was important and he wasn't listening. "Father." Still quietly. My warm breath froze in a cloud when it left my body.
"Proclaim you-"
"Father!" I'd never shouted at my father like that before and I'd immediately stumbled back when he whipped his head to look at me.
"What?" He seethed through his teeth.
It took a moment to catch my breath. "The- The Frost Gi-"
"Speak up, girl!" He shouted. My face heated. The entire kingdom was hearing this.
"The Frost Giants are here," I spat out. Relief flooded through my chest when the anger on his features was replaced with concern.
"The Frost Giants?" He said in a hush.
His face seemed dull but he didn't question me as he raised his staff and slammed it on the floor again, letting The Destroyer loose. The Destroyer protected the weapons vault. I wasn't sure what the Frost Giants wanted so desperately in the vault. Sure, there are priceless items but risking their life for mere items?
Odin stood. "Thor, Loki, Astrid. With me," He announced and he followed our father out of the hall that had fallen into a blanket of whispers. I felt eyes pry into the back of my head as I walked past but I attempted to keep my head held high.
I knew that Odin would find the breach in the defense. He would find that Heimdall wasn't at his post and therefore punish him but I couldn't let that happen. I would have to tell my father that I convinced Heimdall to stay.
My chest constricted with fear at what he'd roar at me.