Frigga walked briskly down the corridors of the palace with an excited sparkle in her eye. As she approached the hallway outside of the ballroom, her gaze fell on her younger son and her soon-to-be-daughter, a pairing that made her smile widen the longer she watched.

The couple stood apart from the rest of the Asgardian royal family. Frigga smiled fondly at the couple as Maeve fussed with the collar of Loki's emerald-colored cape, trying and failing to get it to lie straight. Instead of helping her, the prince plucked the delicate tiara off of her hair and held it above her head in a teasing way.

Thor stood alone on the other side of the hall, adjusting his scarlet cape. As Odin was busy conversing with a guard about security precautions, Frigga approached her eldest son.

"Thor," she said, smiling up at him, "you're oddly quiet, my son."

"Just thinking, Mother," he answered honestly. "I can't believe it's been a year."

"I know. Who would've thought things would turn out so well?" Frigga remembered how reluctant Loki acted, how reserved Maeve seemed. Yet somehow, they found each other through circumstance.

Thor grinned. "Not me."

"Oh?"

"I didn't think this would last an entire year," he confessed, chuckling. He greatly admired the girl his brother was to marry, and he already considered her to be a younger sister. The ceremony would just make things official. "I thought Loki was going to chase her out of the realm ages ago."

"Yes, they suit each other," Frigga replied. "I think they both received more than they bargained for."

Thor grinned as he recalled the day Maeve showed up to dinner with bright pink curls or Loki covered head to foot in flowers, how he sneezed all morning. He also remembered being hit in the head with a lady's shoe, and though he never had any proof, he felt like one of them had something to do with it. "In a good way."

"Don't tell me you are jealous of your brother."

Thor laughed loudly. "Oh no. She fits him perfectly. They're happy together and I'm happy for them. Besides, I think marrying this young would be awfully boring."

She winked at him. "Your time will come one day, my son."

Across the hall, Maeve and Loki occupied themselves by playfully bickering, a pastime at which the two excelled.

"Can't we go see them?" Maeve begged. Laughing, Loki put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from bouncing up and down.

"No. We have to wait to be announced," he replied with a smile. "It's against the court traditions to see any guests before we've been presented. Best for last. That's us."

"And suddenly you're all for the rules?"

He smirked and put an arm around her waist. "Not in the slightest, but Father is, and if I'm not mistaken, he's keeping his eye on us."

Both of them glanced over: Odin indeed was watching them intently.

"I didn't think you were keen on listening to him, either." Loki didn't miss the malice in Maeve's voice, and it shocked him. She possessed a sharp tongue, but it didn't usually emerge from behind her soft exterior and court mannerisms. Nothing she learned of Odin in her year of knowing him led her to embrace him as a father-in-law, or even to like him much at all.

"Cheer up, flower. We'll have fun tonight."

"Oh, yes. The two of us will definitely enjoy a night with dignitaries that we have to play nice with." She raised her eyebrows and gave him a shrewd look that made him want to kiss her, but he didn't. He preferred to keep their relationship private, at least the parts of it he could. Because even though they were forced together, he fell in love on his own.

"There will be good food," he pointed out. "And dancing, and your family."

"That's true." She tugged on a lock of hair and bit her lip in thought. "Do I look all right?"

Loki didn't think he'd ever tire of her wearing his colors, and tonight was no exception. The light green chiffon of her dress swayed at her every movement, tied with a thin gold belt around her waist. Her blonde locks had been pinned back with twists, and a few pieces framed her face. As a believer in natural appearances, Maeve's face remained mostly clear of makeup, using it only to enhance the beauty that she had been born with.

Maeve coughed to get his attention and Loki blushed, realizing he'd been staring at her for far too long.

"I'll take that as a good enough, then," the princess said, smirking.

This time, he didn't care who watched. Loki caught her chin and pulled her in for a kiss. His passion surprised her, but she closed her eyes and kissed him back regardless. That is, until Odin cleared his throat and the two separated, Maeve embarrassed and Loki irritated. The two joined the rest of the royal family, and Maeve made sure to stand as far away from the Allfather as she could. Loki noticed this and did his best to hide his amused smile, but his mother caught him. Instead of chastising him, she only ignored it, hiding her smirk much better than her son did.

"Are we ready?" Odin asked, a hint of disapproval in his tone. Ironic, Loki thought darkly. You're the one who started this in the first place.

"Yes, I believe so!" Frigga said brightly, smiling at her husband. As always, her words had a softening effect on Odin. He too smiled and offered her a hand.

The doors opened and a voice announced Thor's presence. He entered the ballroom amidst loud cheering and stomping that went on for at least five minutes. Then Frigga and Odin left, leaving Maeve and Loki alone in the hallway.

"We could just run," Loki suggested, an impish smirk on his face that she found adorable.

"I don't know," she answered, playing along. "They did plan a feast and a wedding just for us."

"I suppose it would be rather rude to leave, then." He winked. "This might be the only time we're ever presented after my parents."

"Maybe we should relish in the moment, then," she said cheekily.

"This is the last time we'll be presented to the realms not as husband and wife."

Butterflies erupted in her stomach at his words. In two days, she would be married. The thought terrified her as much as it excited her.

Loki sensed the change in her demeanor and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Together?" he whispered.

Maeve nodded. "Together."

The doors opened again. Maeve could barely hear their names over the cheering and applause. Asgardian feasts tended to be... well, rowdier than the ones they held in Vanaheim, and she was still getting used to that fact. While she walked down the stairs hand in hand with Loki, her eyes sought one group of people seated at the high banquet table. It took all of her will power to not automatically let go of her betrothed and sprint over for hugs, but she restrained herself.

Asmund grinned when her face lit up at the sight of them all. His sister looked happier than he'd ever seen her in his entire life. Tonight, he would leave the problems behind, forget everything he left in Vanaheim. In a few days he could worry again. Seated between Thor and Corey, he reclined in his chair, relishing in a night where he could just relax and enjoy himself. Maeve and Loki took their places next to them, only lifting his spirits further. He raised his wine glass in a teasing toast to his sister before taking a small sip and switching to water, never appreciating how alcohol made him feel like he had no control. He couldn't afford a loose tongue. He needed his wits about him.

Odin stood, his cape billowing behind him and his eyepatch imposing, but there was a genuine smile on his face. The entire hall quieted almost instantaneously, a feat Maeve believed impressive. "Welcome," the king of Asgard said, his voice warm and carrying. "Welcome to all of our guests tonight as we celebrate the blessed union of Prince Loki and Princess Maeve. Please enjoy yourselves tonight. The wine is plentiful and the music unceasing."

"How are you all?" Maeve asked her brothers the second Odin had finished his blessing. They all began to chime in.

"Swell!"

"You missed the harvest, Maeve!"

"I just read the most fantastic play!"

"Vali's got himself a girlfriend!"

"You shut your mouth, Ros!"

"I will not! I caught you two in the stables all over each other!"

They continued to speak over each other, filling Maeve in on absolutely everything that had occurred in the last year. She didn't mind. Growing up in a large family, she loved their mindless chatter, something she sorely missed at her new dinner table. In a strange way, she thought Asgard's royal family needed more members, but she mused that Loki and Thor were probably more than enough to handle.

On one side, Corey and Thor argued about some form of fighting, but she didn't think it sounded angry. Actually, the two seemed to be having fun. On the other, Asmund began to tell Loki about a book he'd read recently. Loki listened intently, his green eyes filled with interest as he conversed with another intellectual.

Soon enough, the only ones left at the table were Maeve and Asmund. The rest were gone, whisked away to join in Asgard's spirited dances. To her delight, Maeve saw Thor spinning Lady Sif, the two of them laughing as they danced. She'd lived in Asgard for a close to a year and still didn't understand why they weren't courting yet.

After getting a pointed look from Odin, Loki begrudgingly left his secluded place at the table to talk with other dignitaries and join in the festivities, but Maeve chose to remain for a few minutes longer. For once, her father had blessedly ignored her, choosing to exchange stories of harvest with Odin and Frigga instead of criticizing her.

She frowned as her eldest brother politely declined yet another woman's offer to dance and sipped from his goblet instead. Whether he knew it or not, Asmund's calm demeanor and piercing blue eyes made him one of the most attractive men in the room, but he showed no interest in any of the women who tried to flirt with him. Maeve credited this to her brother's high intelligence, but it still struck her as odd. Over a year ago, back in Vanaheim, he would have joined in long ago.

"Don't you want to dance?" She asked, eyebrows raised. "You used to love it."

"I do love it. It's fun to watch them all, though." His gaze strayed to all of his younger brothers enjoying themselves on the dance floor. "I thought you liked dancing, too."

"I do. And Loki's an incredible dancer, too. When I get up, everyone's going to crowd me. Honestly, I'm delaying the inevitable." She winked playfully at him, but her smile fell when she saw he wasn't paying attention. He seemed off in his own world, a wistful look on his face as he watched the partners. "What's wrong?"

"Hm?"

"You keep zoning out."

"I'm fine." The two words fell easily from his lips, but for once, he wasn't lying. The music, the atmosphere, the joy on his sister's face: it put him at ease. A weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. "More than fine, actually. Do you want to dance? I might as well be your partner once before Loki steals you away for the rest of the night, and I'm sure none of the other ladies here dance half as well as you."

She brightened at his offer and hopped up from her seat. "Come on!"

In the next half hour, Maeve danced with all of her brothers, Thor, and many dignitaries before she finally found herself partnered with Loki, the one she desired to be with above all the others. The music morphed into something slower, more dream-like.

"Having fun?" Loki asked with a sarcastic smile as he twirled her, letting her gown flare out before drawing her close once again. He absolutely loved the height difference between the two of them, loved the way he could hold her in his arms.

"Surprisingly, yes. This is nicer, though."

He felt her small form tense up and he looked down at his betrothed, concern in his expression. Her eyebrows had drawn together, her grip on his hand tighter. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I just... I don't like the way he's looking at me, Lo," she whispered. Loki spun her purposely to switch vantage points and see whoever she was talking about.

"The light elf?" He asked sharply. Maeve nodded, shirking a bit at his gaze. The attractive elf leaned against a column, sipping a drink and eyeing her cooly. "That's Garmath. One of the lords of Alfheim."

"He won't stop staring at me."

"Try to ignore him, unless you'd like me to do something about him." She didn't like the dark tone in his words one bit. "I can be back in two minutes with daggers."

Maeve immediately shook her head. "No. That's not necessary, I promise. We're getting married in two days. No blood."

"Very well," he purred in her ear, grinning as she involuntarily closed her eyes at his voice. "Everyone's watching us."

"It's because we're both stunning," Maeve joked. "Especially me."

"My dear, you are stunning. Don't forget it."

"You really do have a silver tongue."

"Indeed."

New chapter! Let me know what you think! Leave comments, predictions, random thoughts :)