The doors moved open silently but I wished they'd have made a sound to help cover up my thudding heart. Seated at the long, formal table was a couple, one of whom I recognized. Freya, the queen of Asgard was sitting by a man with salt and pepper hair, head thrown back and laughing. Her grey-streaked hair was done in an intricate braid and I thought she might have had diamonds woven into the structure. She (there was no other word for it) sparkled under the overhead lights between that and her off-white gown.

At her side, the older man turned and I wasn't unable to hide my shock as I saw his face; he had a thick scar across the upper half of his left face, like someone had taken a large knife and carved. My stomach felt a little queasy when I saw that he had an eye patch on the same side and I couldn't help the morbid wondering as to how he'd lost his eye.

"Ah there's my boy!" Odin boomed, rising to his feet and interrupting my staring. Like his son, he was dressed in a suit though his was crimson red. Beaming at his son, the king of Asgard approached us and wrapped Thor in an embrace.

"Hi Dad," Thor muttered, blushing a bit as he let go. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Nonsense!" Odin's smiling gaze fell on me and I quickly rearranged my face into what I hoped was a winning smile. The last thing I wanted was for my RBF to make an appearance. "And Lady Suzume, a pleasure to finally meet you!"

I offered him my free hand. "Thank you, it's very nice to meet you too." Odin (to my great relief) only shook my hand. "Please, won't you come sit?"

"Of course," I kept a loose grip on Thor's hand as long as I could, the slight weight keeping me calm as I lowered myself into the chair he pulled out for me. "Good evening Your Majesty," I said, addressing Freya who gave me a smile of her own.

"You can call me Freya."

Calling by the first name, that had to be a good sign and I relaxed a little as Thor sat down beside me. "You look lovely."

"Thank you." Her gaze turned away from me as Odin sat down, still beaming who clapped his hands twice in quick succession. As if on queue a separate, smaller door at the back of the room opened up and waiters flashed towards us bearing silver platters and matching domes.

My hopes of chicken wings and beer now dashed, I mentally recited Sif's advice about how forks always were on the left side and the salad one came first. "Thank  you," I said as my waiter pulled off the dome with a flourish to reveal a bed of leafy greens that I didn't recognize but the uncertainty wasn't a concern. I'd never been a picky eater and I had never been more thankful for it than I was now as I had dinner with literal monarchs. I took a generous bite of it, the tang of citrus and bite of pepper dancing on my tongue as the conversation began.

"So," Odin said as he picked at his own salad, clearly not as at ease with the greens as I was. "Did you get the trade deal with Hrothgar settled?"

"We got him to agree to a few of our terms," Thor answered, picking at his food as well. Apparently he'd taken after his father when it came to veggies. "We're still  stuck on a few terms."

"What terms?"

"Well, he wants us to increase the amount of starlight we're willing export."

"Did he say how much? There are limits to be sure but I'm sure our Wildlife and Conversation departments would agree to a subtle increase. Yeah, Hilda can be an obstinate hag but if she's giving you trouble I can speak with her."

I wasn't sure who Hilda was but by Thor's exasperated smile that Odin's words were true. "Hilda I can handle, it's Hrothgar's second request that's proving...difficult."

"What does he want?" Odin asked and I was thankful he had. The same question had been on my mind but unlike him, my mouth was full.

Thor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's still rather insulted about Loki's conduct the last time they saw each other and he wants a formal apology."

Odin nodded, his one eye widening with understanding. "Ah, I can see how that would be much harder to provide." The king stabbed a bit of his salad but did not eat it, he merely studied the wilting leaf with mild interest. "That Trickster is-."

 "Hard to predict?" I offered as I set my fork on my now empty plate. "Definitely ironic that he's able to shapeshift like he can."

"You've met Loki?"

"A few times," I said, deciding on the spot that it was best not to mention how he'd crashed the post-interview party. "He made an impression."

"After he broke your ribs," Thor muttered darkly, eyes flashing grey for a second.

"That was an accident," I reminded him. And it also hadn't been the first time I'd met the man but given the apprehensive looks on Odin and Freya's faces I decided it was better not to mention that. "He just didn't mind his strength enough."

"It's not out of character for the Trickster to be careless," Odin said as he picked at his salad. "I'd hope the centuries would've mellowed him out but alas, they haven't." The king shook his head and pushed away his salad plate.

Across the table, his wife narrowed her gaze and scowled. "You've barely touched your food."

"We have three more courses dear," Odin said evasively. "I need to make sure I'm not too full."

"You need to eat your vegetables." Freya clicked her tongue at the king, sounding oddly like my own mother whenever Dad put extra salt on his french fries.

"I'll be alright dear," Odin clapped his hands together twice and a waiter appeared again a second later and whisked away my plate and replacing it seamlessly with a rich-smelling broth that had sprigs of parsley floating on the top.

"What is this?" I asked, put off by the rich golden color.

"Squash," Freya answered. "I find it's a very homey meal, don't you?"

"For those who aren't allergic I suppose it is."

"You're allergic to squash?" Thor piped from my side and I nodded.

"Yep, had some at Thanksgiving and broke out into a bad case of hives."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Freya clapped her hands once and my bowl was whisked by a server.

"It's alright, I should've thought to tell you."

"I'm sure you've been busy," Odin interjected. "Thor tells me you're training quiet a lot."

"Yes, I like to stay active and Sif has been an amazing teacher. Though, she doesn't exactly take it easy on me. I'm counting new bruises every day it feels like."

"Sif is one of our best warriors," Odin said, chest puffing with unmistakable pride. "But she doesn't coddle her students. Kids don't learn anything if you hand them empty victories."

"I'd disagree, to an extent at least."

"Really? And why is that?"

"Well,  your superior skills and experience to beat them every time is something of an unfair advantage for one thing. Even if you're just trying to teach them you might just break their spirits and they'll quit before they have a chance to improve."

"Interesting stance, who taught you that?"

"My dad."

"He seems like a well-read man," Odin remarked as he polished off the last of his soup. A bit of yellow goop dripped from his spoon onto the pristine white tablecloth. "What does he do?"

"Dad," Thor said in a warning tone and I saw comprehension dawn on Odin's face.

"Oh, so your father...he's the one you lost."

I didn't have to be a mind reader to see Odin connecting the pieces from Talia's murder to my own life. "Yes, he was a law enforcement officer like me."

"I'm so sorry."

I chewed on a piece of steak before answering. The savory taste gave me a moment to make sure my voice wouldn't break. As I set my knife down, a bit of meat juice dripped onto the tablecloth. "Thank you, so am I."

"What about your mother?" Odin asked, "What does she do?"

"She doesn't work, she's a housewife,"

"So she remarried then? Do you get on well with your stepfather?"

I was liking this conversation less and less with each passing second. "She didn't exactly remarry, my uncle moved in with us after he divorced his wife and he's been there ever since."

"And no siblings?"

Yuki's face flashed across my mind. "Not technically but my uncle had a daughter my age. We were like sisters growing up."

"Must be hard to be away from them," Freya remarked as she took a delicate bite of her steak. I couldn't help but notice that unlike me, she hadn't spilled a morsel of food onto the table itself. Even in the 'meet the girlfriend' dinner she was poised and neat. I couldn't help but wonder what she made of me in my simple dress, slouched posture and inability to eat without getting stuff on the tablecloth.

"Sometimes," I allowed, thinking back on my rocky relationship with my mom. "I've always been independent so being away from home isn't a difficult thing for me most of the time."

"Brave girl," Odin approved, "knew you would be! I saw you in the trial, your move to protect Brunhild was admirable, very bold!"

My face warmed at the compliment and worsened when I saw Thor beaming at me. "Thank you."

"One might have called that move foolish," Freya remarked, setting her knife and fork sideways across her plate. A gesture I had only recently learned meant that she was done eating. "You acted like a solider but if you were a commander on that mission. What would your squad have done without you?"

My hands tightened on my utensils, the veins in my arms sticking out at the tension. "What squad would follow me if I acted like my life was worth more than theirs?"

Freya gave me a thin smile. "Do you play chess Suzume?"

"No."

"Well," Freya twitched her fingers, magic like stardust floating from her hand across the large table to form a glowing chessboard. "As you can see there are sixteen pieces on either side. Can you tell me which is most powerful?"

"The King?" A complete guess but it seemed like a safe option.

She shook her head, the diamonds in her hair shimmering. "The queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard and that's because she can move anywhere she wants. No pawn can match that skill. For that reason, one has to weigh their options when things grow tense; sometimes they even have to make terrible choices." Freya closed her hand the chessboard vanished into thin air. Not a speck of dust left where it had once been. I privately wondered if Freya possessed an Affinity as her son did but now wasn't the time to ask. I had something a little more relevant to say.

"When you have two bad choices there is no right call."

"So you just abstain?"

"If you can yes,  and if not then you make the choice you think you can live with."

"There's something to that," Odin remarked, holding up his wine glass. The crystal split the light, painting a brilliant rainbow across the white of his shirt. "We don't always have the luxury of not casting a vote." There was  heaviness in his voice that didn't escape my notice but it didn't seem like the right time to dig into it. Things had been tense enough and I was more than eager to bring it back to a lighter topic.

"My dad taught me that," I said, not wholly untrue as his death had been a lesson in that. "One of my many important lessons but my favorite was how to cook the world's greatest stir-fry."

"You like to cook?" Freya asked.

Freya latched onto my change of topic and a weight lifted off my chest. "I love to eat," I corrected, "and anyone who loves to eat should know their way around the kitchen."

"Not always true," the queen laughed, "I love to eat as well but I'm a horrible cook."

"You can't be that bad."

This time Freya was joined in her laughter by her family. "Oh she is," Thor chuckled as he glanced over at his father. "Remember that birthday party when I was a kid?"

"Those pancakes made great charcoal." Odin said, toasting his wife who rolled her eyes at him though she laughed at the same time. Now finally in safer waters for a conversation, I found myself smiling a bit easier as the next course was served. Maybe I would survive this dinner after all.

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New chapter! Suzume has met the parents and has not yet made a spectacle of herself with fine dining faux pas. Hurray! As always, please feel free to COMMENT and VOTE! And a Happy Belated New Year to you all!

Write on! :)