They got what they wanted, to get Thor out of the way of the throne, but at what cost?
———
MIDGARD.
When Odin said that Thor was banished to Midgard, memories of over seventy years ago flashed before Arselia's eyes. Her memories on Midgard, that she wished she could bury within the deepest depths of her mind, managed to add onto the heartbreak of losing Thor. She never wanted the blonde-haired god to be banished away and rid of his power, just as she never wanted to say goodbye to her first love. The man that she adored with all her heart. The man that even though he was not a perfect soldier, he was a good man. For a warrior like her, it was expected that she was to fall in love with someone as strong as her. Someone that managed to balance her out when it comes to power and skill set. But he was different. It didn't matter how strong he was, what mattered is what he stood for. The way he fought even if he was too weak to do so and the way he wanted to fight for his country because it was the right thing to do. His morals is what made Arselia fall into the spell of love. So in 1939 when the raven-haired goddess decided to visit Midgard after not being there for a millennia, she ended up falling in love with Steven Grant Rogers.
Arselia excused herself from the golden room of the Bifrost and teleported to her quarters within the palace. She sat herself on her emerald silk covers and contemplated everything that Loki and her had done. She quickly rummages through her beside table and finds a photo of her with two other men. Would Steve be proud of the person she is? How would James feel if he found out what she did to make sure Thor stayed off the throne? James. A brown-haired and blue-eyed flirt. On her time on Midgard, she met James at a small diner when he decided to buy her a meal. That one encounter managed to change Arselia's life in the most extraordinary way.
《♛》《♛》《♛》
OCTOBER 1939 (MIDGARDIAN YEARS)
It was a exciting day when Arselia decided to visit the precious realm of Midgard. The humans there spoke of the Asgardian Gods and Goddesses as if they were a thing of myths, when in reality, they exist. Midgard always intrigued the goddess. The way their planet known as "Earth" came to be was a story that Arselia loved reading about. Recently Arselia had heard the whispers of a war that has broken out amongst the Midgardians, causing the Mischievous goddess to want to visit the realm even more. She decided that on that sunny day she would visit the realm. She prepared herself for her trip and even created outfits that she learned were the latest fashion trends of the realm. She wore a cream colored, button up shirt that had a collar. As for pants she wore high-waisted emerald green trousers, with a wide pant-leg. She decided on black heels to pair with the outfit and curled and styled her hair the way she saw in a book known as a magazine from Midgard.
Not wanting to waste time, she wrote a note addressing where she would be for a couple days and to ask Heimdall to summon her if there is an emergency. The blue and green eyed goddess left the note on her bedside table where the servants would surely see it and deliver it to her friends and family. She teleported to the golden room of the Bifrost and Heimdall waited at his podium with Hofund in hand. "I see you are prepared for your travels to Midgard." Arselia softly smiles and nods her head. "Any location in particular? The realm is fairly large." "Brooklyn. Brooklyn, New York." "As you wish, princess."
Flashes of rainbow fill Arselia's vision as the Bifrost takes her to her desired location. Arselia lands right behind an abandoned building in the city and she makes her way to walk with the crowds. People make their ways past one another to get to work as some interact in conversation. The sounds of what Arselia read to be known as a car fill the streets as she walks along the sidewalks. Examining Midgard, it seems to be better developed then what it was ages ago. More buildings were built, better technology, though not as advanced as Asgard. On this trip to Midgard Arselia has decided to blend in with the crowd, rather than show off her powers and be praised just as the myths have said about her.
As she walks, she reads a big sign that says "Lee's Diner." The goddess read much about the strange Midgardian concoctions and being here, she decided she wanted to try them. She walked into the diner and politely waited to be seated. "Hello and welcome to Lee's diner! Would you like a booth, table, or stool?" The cheery woman asks. "A stool would be grand. Thank you." The woman raises an eyebrow after Arselia speaks. "You're not from around here, aren't you?" "You could say that." The goddess chuckles and is lead to her stool by a large counter top. Behind the counter stood an older man working. Arselia examines the menu excitedly. "Hello, what can I get you today?" The older man kindly asks behind the counter. His white hair shines from the lighting of the room and his glasses show Arselia a small reflection of herself. "I was wondering if I could order the delicacy of a cheeseburger and the drink of a soda." "Of course, coming right up!"
The mischievous goddess patiently waited for her food. As she waited she looked around the small diner in delight. The colorful posters and signs excited her as she read them. Men and women of all ages ate happily with one another as they converse about their day. From what Arselia has gathered it seems to be about midday in Brooklyn, hence the reasoning why it is busy in the diner. Continuing to gaze around, she senses someone sit next to her. "What's a beautiful doll like you sitting here alone?" When she goes to see who she is talking with, her eyes meet piercing blue ones. She studies the man's features that decided to talk to her. Short brown hair, a nice sharp jawline, a dazzling smile that can get any women to become weak in the knees. His eyes though, they not only held confidence, but happiness. In her lifetime Arselia has learned to read a lot of people, but a person's eyes is what truly shows who they are.
"Well I don't always need someone by my side." The man raises an eyebrow just as the waitress she met before did. "Feisty and an accent. What's your name?" The raven-haired goddess knew exactly what he was doing. Flirting with her. She had been flirted with many times, but this time he was different. He seemed to be the type of man that would back off instantly if you said you weren't interested. He would know how to respect a woman and treat her right if he was fully committed to a relationship. Arselia would continue his little game of flirting, but wouldn't let it go anywhere. She wasn't there to be in a relationship, she was there to explore the wonders of Midgard and enjoy her journey. "Arselia." "Gorgeous name, Arselia." The man says as he takes her hand and kiss her knuckles. "Handsome and a gentlemen. What's your name?" The man smirked as his blue eyes shimmered. "James, but most people call me Bucky." "Well then James, it is very lovely to meet you." The waiter brought Arselia her food and her eyes widened by it. James caught this and chuckled. "You're not from around, huh?" The goddess looked at the man again and shook her head. "No. No I am not." "Well then, how about I show you the ins and outs of Brooklyn and you agree to go dancing with me tonight." Arselia thought about the man's offer and didn't see a reason to not agree to it. "Alright then." James flashed his wonderful smile at her called the waiter over. "I'll have what she's having." He said as he handed over a five dollar bill to the waiter. "You needn't do that. I can pay for my own meal." The woman learned of the customs and how to pay on Midgard and found that she could easily summon money via her powers. "It's ok, doll. I wanted to show how much of a gentlemen I can be." The brown-haired man said with a wink. The warrior rolled her eyes and continued eating her tasty meal.
The two conversed for a little while as they ate. She learned that James was twenty-two years old and lived with his mother, father, sisters, and brothers. She even learned that he had a best friend named Steven, or as most people called him Steve. When asked about where she came from or her family, the goddess of lies simply made up lies with that silver tongue of hers. After about an hour in the diner, the pair left and walked across the street to Bucky's car. Being the gentleman that he was, he opened and held the door for her as she got inside. To say Arselia was fascinated in an understatement. She had never seen a vehicle like this before. Sure Asgard has ships to travel to space in and different animals to ride, but this was different. The leather interior of the car felt smooth against her skin.
James got into the drivers seat of the tan colored car, and started it up. The two drove through the city and James explained all the buildings that were there and their purposes. As they drove the radio was set to a low volume and different slow tunes played. The windows of the cars were down and the wind blew through the raven-haired goddess' hair. Arselia's face was one of delight as James gave her information on the lovely city. An assortment of yellows, oranges, and pinks danced in the sky as night approached. "I'll drop you off at your place so that you can freshen up, then I'll pick you back up and we'll head to the bar." Arselia nods her head, then realizes something. She hasn't thought of a place to stay. She quickly comes up with a lie before she can orchestrate a plan on where her and her belongings would stay. "You can drop me off at the diner, I left my car their." James simply nods his head and hums along to a song playing. "Why don't we meet at the diner and walk together to the bar?" "That would be lovely."
James drops the goddess off and she makes her way to the abandoned building that the Bifrost dropped her off behind. Arselia figures that she can easily make a home out of it with some magic and her amazing interior design skills. She renovates the small building into a two story home that includes a kitchen, living room, dance room, dining room, master bedroom, guest bedroom, and a bathroom all with the furnishing inspired by the decade. As she uses magic to create her desired home, she gets ready for her dance date with James. The goddess decides to wear a floor length, elegant green dress. The sleeves are ruffled and towards the neckline of the dress is a little bow. She keeps her hairstyle and shoes the same, but applies a red lipstick. She looks in the mirror of her newly decorated room and adores the way she looks in her dress. Although she wears her classic green armor most days, she does like to wear a dress every once in a while.
Leaving the house she seals it with magic that doesn't allow anyone but her, or people she gives permission to, to enter. The night is young, yet as she walks towards the diner to meet James, their are already drunken men eyeing her in an alleyway. One whistles and decides to be the boldest one out of the group. "Where are you headed, dame?" "Somewhere you're not." The men chuckle and walk closer to her. "Why don't you let us take you out and buy you a drink." A tall man asks. His breath smelt heavily of alcohol and his words were slurred. Arselia simply smirks at the group of three men, then summons her daggers. "If you ever think about touching me I will be sure to cut off your hands as I electrocute you causing your brain to implode pain. I don't think we would want to make that much of a mess, now would we, boys?" The men's eyes are wide and step away from the mischievous goddess. "How- Who- What are you?" "A woman that wont hesitate to murder you slowly and painfully if I catch you attempting to do what you just did to other women as they make their ways." The now frightened men stumble out of the alley way and Arselia retracts her blades. The warrior takes a deep breath before going about back to the diner.
Whilst walking she sees the very man taking her out to dance. She also notices him engaging in conversation with a scrawny blonde-haired man. She can only assume it's the Steven fellow that James talked so much about. From the way the man talked about his best friend, it seems like he truly cares for him. "Hello boys." Arselia happily says as she walks towards them. James' breathe hitches when he sees the outfit Arselia chose. Steven's eyes widened when he saw her. He wasn't one to believe in love at first sight, but man was he attracted to her. Just by the way she was walking she held such power in her steps. But Steve would be a fool to think that he would ever have a chance with her. Most girls usually go for Bucky and leave him on the side lines wishing he was his best friend. She would never in a million years go for him. Right?
"Hello, I'm Arselia. You must be Steven, James has told me so much about you." The goddess says kindly. Steve's cheeks tint with pink and he holds out his hand for her to shake. "Y-yeah that's me." Arselia examines the man and his figure. She notices how small he is compared to the other men she has seen in the realm. But his eyes, they carry kindness with a hint of fear. She has yet to figure out what the fear is, but has a goal set on it. Whatever that fear may be, she wouldn't want the man in front of her to experience. He seemed so nice, so innocent. Something within her has such an urge to protect him from everything. Maybe she would.
"You look dashing, Lia." "Lia?" "Yes, that is my official nickname for you." James says with a smirk. The woman rolls her eyes as she thinks about how that is the same nickname Loki had given her. "Whatever you say, James." Steve looks to his friend in confusion. "Buck, I'm surprised you let her call you by your actual name, you usually hate that." "Key word, punk. Usually. But, I like when she says it." The brown-haired man winks then proceeds to take the goddess's hand and lead her to the bar. Steve resides to the warriors left as Bucky is to the right. The three of them get to know each other more as they walk, and enjoy the small breeze of the fresh night.
The trio make it to the bar where Bucky orders him and Arselia some alcohol she has never heard of before. Steve decides to go for a water and when Arselia asks why, he simply responds with the fact that he can't carry his alcohol. When Bucky finally dragged Arselia onto the dance floor, she wasn't used to this way of dancing, as it is fairly different from the way she would on Asgard. Fortunately, Bucky leads her and teaches her the proper steps and she manages to master it in no time. Throughout the night of dancing, she keeps her eyes on Steve and watches how no one has yet to offer him to dance. She feels bad for the scrawny man as she can see him sadly sit down with his water while her and his best friend have been happily dancing the night away. She looks Bucky in those piercing blue eyes as they sway to the music. "I feel bad for him." "Who?" "Steve." The man looks towards his friend and frowns. "No girl wants to ever dance with him. They say he's either too short or too skinny, they yet to realize he's a good person." "Can I?" "Can you what?" "Dance with him." The man in front of her raises his eyebrows in surprise, but lets go of the woman, allowing her to go over and talk to Steve.
The Goddess of Mischief makes her way to the table where Steve resides and offers him her hand. The man looks at her confused. "What?" "Would you like to dance?" "W-Why me? Aren't you here with Bucky?" "Yes, but I would like to dance with you, if you gave me the honor." Steve looked to the beautiful woman standing in front of him and hesitantly took her hand. "This was my first time dancing, you know." The goddess states as they walk to the dance floor. "Really, a beautiful dame, woman I should say, like you hasn't danced before?" "Well not like this." Steve eyes her curiously. "Well uh, this is my first time too." He says as he looks to the ground in shame. Arselia's eyes widen in disbelief. "You must have danced." "Well, asking a woman to dance always seems so terrifying. And the past few years just didn't seem to matter that much. Figured I'd wait." "For what?" "The right partner." Arselia tilts her head to the side. "Well, I hope I'm the right partner." Steve looks to the goddess with admiration in his eyes. "I'm sure you are."
In that moment of talking to Steve she felt a warm feeling in her stomach, almost as if butterflies were fluttering. Arselia had never once fallen in love, yeah she had one night stands that didn't have any attachments to them other than attraction, but this was different. This feeling inside her for a man who she had found out feared rejection the most, wanted to do anything but that to him. She wanted to embrace him.
The pair make it to the dance floor and Steve places his hands on her hip and in her other hands, after asking for permission. The two start dancing to a song that plays as they gaze into each other's eyes. Those ocean eyes that she adored. She could drown in those depths of blue everyday. And she did. But, nothing lasts forever. Bucky watched as the two danced together, he saw the way that they looked at each other intensely and with adoration, even if they had met not even three hours ago. Arselia was a beautiful woman, he couldn't deny that. But maybe, she would be Steve's beautiful woman. He promised to himself for Steve's sake to lay off of her and let him have this. There are other women out there, even if they weren't as extraordinary as she was.
TWO MONTHS LATER
DECEMBER 1939
Arselia sat in her apartment in front of the fire place with her record player going. She hummed to the tunes of the Midgardian song as she warmed up from being out all day. Lately she has been obsessed with going to the library and reading poetry. She especially loves the poet Edgar Allen Poe and his works of literature. "I see you have made yourself at home on Midgard." A voice says from behind Arselia's couch. Though, she could recognize that voice and sense that magic anywhere. "I have, my dear soul bond." She turns around to see an illusion of Loki adorned in his classic green armor. She watches as Loki looks around her cozy home. "It is very small for someone of your ranks." "That may be so, but it is perfect for me." The god looks at his soul bond and sees how happy she truly seems to be here. Not having any responsibilities except for exploring and meeting new people. "Would you stay here given the chance?" The raven-haired goddess considers her options. The people she's met here and the home she has created, she absolutely adores. Home. Asgard was her home, but this was different. Although she did miss her home realm, she enjoyed every moment of being here. She especially enjoyed being with Steve and James.
The goddess's lack of answering is an answer enough for Loki. He misses being able to be with his soul bond and talk to her on a daily basis. Projecting illusions across realms takes not only a lot of energy, but a lot of power. They talked about once each month she had been there. Though, this time around when the God of Mischief looks into his best friend's eyes he can see the happiness, the freedom, the love. "Who is he?" The woman's cheeks turn pink and she looks down. "Who is who?" Loki's mouth contorts into his infamous smirk and walks closer to his soul bond. "The man you have fallen for." Arselia looks up and rolls her eyes. "I have not fallen for anyone, you fool." "Though you may be the Goddess of Lies, I am the God of Lies. That right there, darling, was one of the biggest lies you have told." The goddess sighs and rests her head against the back of her couch. Loki simply sits next to her on the couch and summons a cup of his favorite tea for himself. "Well, go on."
"His name is Steven and he is one of the kindest and generous men I have ever met. He is not a warrior, nor does he have the physique of one, but he does his best when it comes to fighting. With the recent war that has begun over here, their army needs more soldiers and he has been trying his best to enlist even though they keep turning him down. He is a small man who is weaker than others, yet he holds his head high when there is a challenge. Many men would rather stay at home not participating in the war to fight for their country. But him, he's different. No matter his size, he still wants to fight because it's the right thing to do. His morals and what he truly believes in is nothing but good. He is a true gentlemen and is so very kind." The goddess finishes her statement by releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding in. The god raises his eyebrows in astonishment. "You're in love, Lia." The goddess looks to her friend in disbelief. "I am not in love, Lo. Love is for children." "You have let down the walls you created for yourself millennia's ago and allowed him in. If anything you embraced him being there and breaking through your rough exterior. The way you talk about him as if he is everything to you and the look in your eyes when describing him just proves that. Also, I can sense your emotions and can feel the happiness residing within you when talking of him."
The goddess momentarily thinks about what her best friend has said. Has she really let down her walls for Steve and even Bucky? Was she in love with Steve? She wasn't sure what being in love was, but maybe it is the warm feeling that she gets whenever she is with Steve. "I hate when you're right." The god rolls his eyes as his illusion starts fading. "I have to go dear sister, do what you feel is right in your heart. Know that I love you." Arselia looks to Loki and smiles. "I love you most."
Arselia sits in her home with her mind going wild. She gets up off her couch and goes to her coat closet. Within the closet she sees the secret compartment that she hid Steve and Bucky's Christmas gifts in. They were shocked when they found out she didn't know what Christmas was, but eventually explained everything to her. They even helped her decorate her home and put up a tree for the holiday. The warrior took a look at the gifts and sighed. She bought Steve a pack of drawing pencils, the same pack that she bought herself and would allow him to borrow whenever her asks. The two of them would spend hours drawing together with the record player going in the background. She absolutely adored his drawings and wanted to see him do it more often with better materials. As for James, she got him a copy of Alice in Wonderland. He talked about how he read the story when he was younger and absolutely loved it. His favorite character was the Mad Hatter, so naturally she got a book that had him on the cover. Yeah, Arselia had fallen in love with Steven, Loki got that right. Though, she has also developed feelings for James. His charming personality caught her attention and the way he would always stand up for Steve whenever he got into a fight. She loved how he would stand behind him to make Steve seem like the bigger person in the situation and how he encouraged Steve to continue drawing. Even if she admired these things about the brown-haired man. She didn't feel the burning desire that she did for Steve. So in that moment of looking at the gifts she bought, the Goddess of Mischief, Lies, and Thunder had realized that during her trip to Midgard she had fallen in love with Steve Rogers.
𝐀𝐍:
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞💀❤️𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐌𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐱𝐱