You fight back waves of nausea as your stomach does backflips in reply to the exhilarated roars of your people- just outside of the palace doors, eagerly awaiting the presentation of their newly married Prince and Princess.
You and Aster had, obviously, not gotten married that morning, and had also barely discussed what it was exactly that you were going to say to the Vanirian people.
"I've got it under control." Aster had reassured you multiple times.
I guess we'll see about that. Your stomach does another horrific flip.
"Are you ready?" The prince steps to your side, facing the doors to the balcony that outlook the main courtyard.
"For a miracle? Certainly." Every bit of your intended sarcasm is swallowed up by your nerves.
"Have a little faith." His lips curl up into a warm smile.
"What?"
"In your people- have faith in them. Just because they have different jobs and titles than us does not necessarily mean that their feelings are different from ours."
Your stomach does another flip. It isn't horrific this time, however, it's more like butterflies- more like excitement.
"You're going to be an excellent king, Aster." You finally muster a smile.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps I'll get booed off of the balcony in a few minutes."
You slap his arm. He giggles.
"Ready?" He extends his arm for you to take.
"I am."
The prince nods his head at the guard, who promptly swings open the doors to the balcony so the two of you may step outside.
The people roar, causing your head to spin. You suddenly feel like you're floating above yourself, watching your body moving by nothing but instinct.
"Good morning, people of Vanaheim!" Aster extends his arms toward his people, appearing possibly the most natural you've ever seen him look.
"I have wonderful news to share with you all!" The crowd roars.
Oh gods, here comes some news they're not expecting.
"Over the past month, I have had the privilege of building a wonderful bond and friendship with the woman standing by my side." He stops to give you an affectionate look, causing heat to rise in your cheeks. "And during that time, Lady Gersemi has proven to be far too much of an asset to the realms to simply serve as my wife. Even as our queen. I can say with pure elation that she has far bigger things in her future, and I am honored to be a part of anything she permits me to be involved in."
The crowd goes so silent a pin would be heard if dropped. Someone coughs.
Oh gods.
"Today was meant to be a day of celebration, and while a royal wedding will no longer be the cause for that celebration, I believe the reason we now have to be even greater.
Today, we will celebrate the unification, and protection of our realms. We will celebrate the beginning of some long overdue change, and we will celebrate our people.
Fear not for the future of Vanaheim. With Lady Gersemi's blessing, I have begun the courting process once again, and there is already one prospect that the two of us agree is quite well suited for me." He clears his throat. "While I may not be able to promise that I will share all of the details of that relationship in the public eye, I can and will promise you that I love this realm and its people more than anything. I will be your king, but it is my duty to serve you- my people, and I promise to always keep you safe."
The crowd erupts into cheers.
You are unsure if you're actually processing the response properly, or if perhaps this is in fact a dream, and you haven't actually woken up and started this day yet.
That is, until the crowd begins to chant, "All hail King Aster! Long live the King!" Over and over and over again.
You turn to him, his blue eyes flickering wildly through the crowd before meeting yours. Tears fall freely down his cheeks as he reaches out to grab your hand. You hesitate for a moment, worried what sort of mixed signal his affectionate touch could give the people, before you finally think, oh, what the hell- he's one of my greatest friends, and I- I love him.
"You deserve every bit of their love." You finally take hold of his hand and give it a squeeze.
"I'm not sure if tha-"
"And mine as well."
He turns completely away from the crowd to address you. "What-"
"I love you, Aster. Like family, like a brother; Like the closest of friends. And you deserve every bit of those feelings. A matter of weeks ago I feared I'd be trapped in a relationship with an entitled, disconnected, narcissist. Sometimes I have a difficult time processing just how wonderful of a person you are." You swallow. "You don't need to say anything back, it's okay of you don't feel th-"
"I love you too, Gersemi. In the most unimpeachable of ways. You have shown me a deeper sense of care and understanding than most of my family, and I feel fiercely protective of you because of that."
"Let's fix these wonderful, broken realms." You give his hand an even tighter squeeze with a grin.
"Together. As the closest of friends." He nods, squeezing your hand in return.
"Guards! Open up the gates!" Aster grins, that rare kind of grin that shows off his dimples as the people of Vanaheim flood through the gates and into the palace.
At first, you'd though the idea of opening up that palace gates to anyone seemed completely mad, but the idea of lessening the gap between the people of your realm and the royals was exactly the kind of message you and Aster want to give. Besides, it'd be a downright shame to let all of the wedding food and cake go to waste.
————————
In the proceeding weeks, you and Aster spend nearly every day in council meetings, recruiting new members, and brainstorming. Likewise, Loki and Bragi seem to have hit it off, the two of them constantly discussing magic and laughing at their own inside jokes.
Occasionally you're struck with a sudden pang of jealousy watching the two of them. You and Aster are so very overwhelmed with political tasks it was stifling. You missed the carefree days that you got to spend with Loki. The two of you do always see each other in the evenings, however, spending many impassioned nights together in your shared bedroom in the palace, which on occasion still felt sinfully wrong.
"Hey."
"Hm?" Aster's voice snaps you out of your daydream.
"Where are you at right now?" His blue eyes glow with warmth.
"What do you mean?" You shuffle the scattered pages around in front of you, attempting to retrace your steps. "I'm working on-"
"No- Your mind is elsewhere. I sincerely hope it's a nicer place than this bloody council room." He laughs.
"I'm sorry, I think this pregnancy is giving me a short attention span." Your cheeks warm.
"Then I must be pregnant, too." He teases. "To be honest, I'm beginning to have a difficult time keeping everything I've read straight. What do you say we take the rest of the afternoon off?"
"That sounds wonderful." You confess.
Freeing your hair from its tight braid, you tie the piece of fabric from Loki's shirt around your wrist as you make your way to the palace gardens to get some fresh air. You find a shady spot in the grass and stretch out, poking your bare toes out into the sunshine.
The joyful giggles of two young boys playing in the pond catch your attention. The curly haired brunette splashes water at a taller, far less enthused, raven-haired boy.
You giggle at how much the taller boy reminds you of Loki.
Wait.
Who are these boys?
Aster put all of the palace staff on light duty several weeks ago. He'd said it was "because they deserve it." But you know for certain it was so no one would notice the majordomo's frequent absences.
In fact, that other boy kind of looks like...
"Hey!" You shout at the boys.
Instead of looking startled or running away from a shouting adult, the boys freeze, a green and golden illusion fades away, revealing Loki and Bragi, sitting next to the pond with a stack of books and a pair of smirks.
"He's getting rather good, isn't he?" Loki beams.
"I'd say." Your words come out a strange, pinched sound. There's something about witnessing such masterful magic up close that always manages to take your breath away.
Loki unfolds his long legs and joins you at your side. "I'd like to teach you, too, you know."
"Me? What-" An awkward, breathy laugh escapes you. "I don't have any sort of-"
"Have you already forgotten the day we saved your sister, my little witchling?" He croons.
"That was just a fluke, Loki. More weird 'you're sort of a frost giant' stuff." You brush him off.
"It could be a side effect, sure- but one's seidr often presents itself for the first time in an environment where you feel completely out of control."
"You've just described most of my life." You tease.
"I want to teach you, Gersemi- if you'll permit me to try." He persists, ignoring your attempts to deflect. "Would you like to learn magic?" His hopeful green eyes glitter in the sunlight.
Oh gods. Do I?
Of course I do.