An unexpected offer

Breakfast with the king and queen had gone surprisingly well. 

Despite the royal court dining with us, the amount of questions regarding Thor and I was kept at what I would consider the bare minimum. I would be mad if I walked into the dining hall expecting no one to mention my relationship with the eldest prince.

But then again. I had spoken with a ghost only minutes earlier, so maybe I was indeed becoming mad.

It didn't go any further than the usual "May I ask why Prince Thor isn't dining with us this beautiful morning?" and "Surely the rumors of your unofficial separation are fabricated to entertain the common folk?"

My response was always that Thor was either ill or on duty on Midgard, to which I wasn't allowed to discuss the matter any further.

As for the separation, Odin almost lost his head with rage, that a member of the royal court would ask me, a member of the royal family, and inevitably the first woman in line to the throne if she was still with the man that had abused her, but I managed to hush the king before he told the truth.

A simple "The prince and I both found it reasonable, that we as future heirs to the throne spend a few weeks apart, both for me to heal from the traumatic event that I went through, as well for us to focus on our studies."

The elderly men thought my words had meant that we couldn't keep our hands off of each other, that I was so madly in love with the brute that I spent every woke moment in his lap or on my knees.

The thought made me gag.

One of the men asked if our time apart meant there was yet another heir on the way, but the all-father, to my surprise, told all the council members that there was no rush and that I was still young with much to learn.

It felt amazing to have the all-father defend me, to stand up for me and pick me over his own blood.

After the meal, I followed the all-father to his private studies.

He had asked to speak with me about something rather important.

"Have a seat, my dear," The bearded man said, taking sitting in his leather chair placed in front of a large bookcase filled with books that had all knowledge of all of the realms.

"All-father, your discretion worries me. Has something happened?" I asked.

In all honesty, I had never been asked to accompany Odin to his private studies, only the elite and utmost important warriors and council members had ever stepped foot in here, I had never dreamed of even being close to this room.

Odin looked at me for a second without saying a word. For a man with only one eye, he had perfected his silent glance. 

"I know Loki's passing was hard on you, Y/N, and I know the child you were carrying was his."

I was shocked. Odin was a wise man, yes, but there were certain things not even he knew.

He must have noticed my odd facial expression, for soon after he added where he had gotten this information.

"My lovely Frigga told me this. I suspect that she brought this to my attention in hopes that I would treat you with more caution," the all-father said. I was surprised that the queen had told him this, considering that she and I had not talked about the past since the night I lost Loki.

"I-is my infidelity the reason you have asked me here, all-father?" I asked, fearing whatever kind of punishment he would force upon me. Would I be sent to the dungeon, stripped of my title, or perhaps even exiled?

Odin gave me a soft smile, before answering.

"No, Y/N, I didn't ask you here to talk about your relationship with Loki or the child that was a result of your affair. I know you played no part in any of it, and had it been up to you, Loki would not have been able to trick you into a physical relationship. Frigga told me about how my son tried to redeem himself after Thor was exiled, and I know my wife wouldn't lie to me regarding such things."

The all-father sounded defeated, exhausted even. I knew he was about to tell me something that laid heavily on him, something that had kept him up at night.

"I love both my sons, there is no hiding that, but in the light of things, I must admit that I failed as a father," Odin sighed.

"Whatever do you mean, All-father?"

Odin didn't answer. It seemed he was at a loss for words, looking for a way to say whatever he needed to get off his chest without hurting my feelings.

"I'm sure you did a wonderful job raising Thor and Loki. Loki was as kind as ever, although I must admit that he had gathered a certain reputation, he had his moments, a-and while I myself have had a rough past with Thor, I'm sure tha-" I tried to cheer up the all-father but was cut off.

"No need to defend either of them, Y/N."

He looked tired, and old, and seemed to be on a verge of a breakdown. Something was wrong, I could feel it.

"I know that you loved Loki, despite his horrible actions in the past, but, there is something that you must know. Something that may never be discussed outside this room," the all-father said, leaning forward as if he could only whisper the secret he was to tell me.

"Well, what is it?" I asked, eager to know what he was hiding from, well, the entire kingdom.

Odin sighed, it seemed that he was trying to gather strength to enlighten me.

"While I raised Loki as my own flesh and blood, he isn't my biological child."

I gasped, not expecting the all-father to tell me such a thing. Would this mean that queen Frigga had had an affair with another man and cheated on her husband? But she didn't seem the type to do such a thing. She was always faithful to her husband, her king.

Odin proceeded to tell me the story of how he had found his youngest son after defeating the Jotuns, bringing the infant to Asgard and raising him together with the queen as if he was their own. 

I was in utter shock. The all-father didn't strike me as one to bring the child of the enemy within the castle walls. 

What didn't sink in right away, what this story had been about, was that Loki, the love of my life, was in fact a frost giant, heir to the throne of Jotunheim, and son of Laufey, the Jotun that had almost claimed my life, but, oddly enough, this didn't change how I viewed Loki.

He was no monster, nothing like his biological father, and certainly nothing like any other Jotun.

There was silence after the all-father had shared the shocking truth with me. I suspect he held his tongue, hoping that it would allow me to understand the situation better.

"B-but, I could touch Loki, without taking damage. How is this possible?" I asked, feeling tears form as I thought back to that horrible night.

Odin simply shook his head, not understanding the circumstances either.

"There must be a reason, all-father, Loki could without any sort of magic put his hand on my naked body, leaving no freeze burns whatsoever, but Laufey..." my voice cut off as tears began making their way down my cheeks.

Odin's face, which had just moments earlier been facing the window in an attempt to hide his shame, quickly turned to mine, examining my body for any marks or freeze burns that I had mentioned. 

Telling him was foolish. The king had no need to see my scars, but me mentioning them would of course catch his interest.

"Do you still have those marks? From the night you willingly sacrificed your life to protect me?" he asked, still looking for a hint of bruising.

I simply nodded, knowing he would ask to see them. The glint in his eyes was clear, I knew he was wondering where said scar would be, so I found no reason to keep up the charade.

Without saying a thing, and keeping my eyes on the all-father, I let go of the projection, slowly showing more of my dark blue skin that struck from my collarbone to my ear, and of course, my ice blue eye. 

His eyes widened, and he was definitely surprised to see such large discolorings on my skin, but without a doubt, it was my eye that seemed the most interesting.

"And this was the doing of Laufey?" he asked cautiously.

I nodded, no words were needed.

"I am sorry for all my family has put you through, my dear," he muttered

I couldn't gather the words to thank him for the apology, it was rare that the all-father apologized to anyone other than Frigga.

After a few minutes of Odin taking in the sight of my wounds, he sat back in his chair, thinking for a bit before he spoke again.

"You are a brave woman, I always thought so. You have served your kingdom on multiple occasions, and like the rest of our family, you are considered of godly blood. You may have noticed that Thor is spending large amounts of time on Midgard, once again, and I'm beginning to doubt if he is still interested in taking over the throne when the time comes."

I didn't understand where he was going with this elaborate speech, but sat in silence, hoping the puzzle pieces would form a picture.

"I want you, Y/N, to resume the royal studies, and in case of my passing, I want you to take over the throne, to be my heir, be the light of the people, be our future," he said, smiling at me.

Had I heard him correctly? Had Odin asked me to take over the role of his heir? I was a woman, I had always been taught that there was no queen without her king, that I couldn't stand on my own without a strong man to protect me, yet, the king of Asgard now asked me to do exactly what I had learned was impossible. Could I take on this enormous burden and even steal Thor's life purpose?

"A-are you quite sure, all-father?" I asked, thinking that he was playing a practical joke on me.

"I am certain that the future of Asgard would be more secure if you became their leader after I step down as king, Y/N."

He said it with such confidence, there was no way that he was joking. He wanted me to become queen, and leader, of Asgard.

I managed to let out a shocked "Thank you," before rising from my seat and making my way back to my chambers, feeling shocked, relieved, and confused at the same time