cobwebs for the betrayers
- - -
Lenora walked through the same golden path her mother had grown up around, the one that started with the golden and brown shiny doors, and ended in the golden throne where the king of Asgard sat, everything was so... golden
Unlike Cora the last time she had been there, Lenora wasn't alone, she had a woman next to her, not much could be described, since she had a hooded black cape that covered everything but her pale chin and the tips of her long raven hair
Unlike Cora the last time she had been there, Odin wasn't alone either, the beautiful queen of Asgard accompanied him, wearing a gown and a smile that faltered upon realizing 'Valhalla's visitant' wasn't the little girl she had raised to become a sorceress, but a stranger all in all
Odin reacted in the same way, since he'd been notified of the visit, he'd been hoping - in vain - that this would be his chance to make amends with the little girl he had mentored to become a queen, the same little girl he had stupidly betrayed
Normally, the throne room meant panic for the ones in front of the mighty chair, and confidence and power pouring through the king in his golden seat, but this time, there was none of that usual hierarchy, you could smell the fear and the nerves from each person in the room
Odin was finally approached by Valhalla after a millennia of being under the silent treatment
Frigga knew this meeting was important, and she was desperate to rekindle her bond with the younger Freysdottir
Lenora was anxious about meeting the people who formed her mother into the person she'd become
And the hooded person was a nervous wreck, fearing the moment she'd show her face she'd be thrown to the dungeons, or beheaded
What was a quick walk from the door to the base of the throne, felt like a hundred miles march, but when the two foreigners got to the designated halt, everyone's breath hitched.
Lenora didn't kneel nor curtsy, and that would've been addressed if it hadn't been for the princess's companion taking her hood off, revealing the goddess of death
Two gasps and a muffled snicker were heard, the surprise coming from the king and queen, and the amusement from the curly blonde
"Allfather, Allmother, pleasure, I'm Fridda Corasdottir, princess of Valhalla, and its representant this evening, also the rightful heir to my realm's throne" she announced after the royal family soaked in their surprise "I'm here under the Queen's wishes to return Hela Odinsdottir back to her realm" the princess added in order to get rid of the deafening silence
"Father, mothe-" the goddess was cut off before even finishing two words
"But- She was casted out for a reason" the king choked out, never tearing his gaze from his firstborn but neither directing his words towards her
"Look, man, I-" she cut herself off, clearing her throat, she actually had to make an impression this time, Coralina's request
"I'm just gonna stick to what mom told me" she mumbled to herself earning a chuckle from Hela "Princess Hela, was taken out from her confinement in Muspelheim a week ago, after Queen Cora came to the conclusion that, in order for Hela to stop losing energy if she went for way too long without being around death, she had to find another way for her to get her energy from.
"Now she gets her strength from normal food like any other asgardian, she still has her powers and everything that makes her herself, only difference is her new diet and the fact she is no longer any more dangerous to the realm than any other kid of Odin, she's ready to be reestablished here, or Helheim if she wishes to take her merited crown" finished Lenora, nodding to herself for being able to remember the whole thing
"Oh! And the Queen demanded that Asgard throws a ball honouring her return"
A minute of silence, or was it a second? Maybe a year... No one did as much as breathe and think, no one dared to do more than that, and then the unexpected happened
"I'm so glad to have you back home" sounded the muffled voice of the king of Asgard, who in the speed of light went from his seat in the throne, to stand in front of his true firstborn, to embrace her in what some would call the most uncomfortable and awkward hug in history, but perfect for the two nonetheless
"Forgiveness is out of the table, I'm afraid I'm not worthy of such thing, while i may have had my reasons for what I did, how I chose to handle my dilemmas, or better said, lack of handling, was reckless and childish, everything I taught both you and Cora not to be, I'm just sorry I decided to cast out my problems instead of working to solve them" the Allfather said, with pain and regret lacing each word spoken, melting her daughter and wife's heart
Lenora kept quiet for the sake of the family reunion, but all the younger princess could think of was the hypocrisy of the man when in fact those words should have been directed not only towards Hela, but towards his youngest too, who was still forbidden from setting foot in his homeland
"Princess, do you think we'll be able to see Cora any time soon?" wondered the queen of Asgard calmly
"I don't know, Allmother, she's always said the moment Hela was free would be the moment she would finally be able to put the past in the past and forgive you" she exhaled calmly before directing herself to Odin, she does not wish for any more payback, she got her childish revenge when she turned Asgard on its king, and that was enough for her, plus she only did it in the heat of her grief and rage" explained Lenora, not in the golden path that lead to the throne anymore, but instead inspecting the old columns adorning the room
"So she's forgiven me?" asked the king with a glimmer of hope only seen before by her wife
"One would think" mumbled the goddess absentmindedly
- - -
"Okay, but you haven't explained how the hell Odin ended up inviting the earthlings to precious Asgard" grumbled Cora from where she was lounging at her daughter's couch, interrupting Lenora's retelling of the events
"Ugh, okay, your majesty, i'll skip forward" sighed the princess from her own seat in her living room, munching on some cookies Cora had brought with her on her visit
"So, after more pleasantries, they all escorted me to Himinbjorg, I told them i'd stay in the palace until the ball, but I had to get some things from Valhalla"
- - -
"Are you sure whatever you need we won't have? We can send some guards to retrieve your stuff, you're our guest, we should provide for you whatever it is you need, princess Fridda" tried Frigga for the fifth time since they started making their way through the rainbow bridge
The queen wasn't a fan of the idea of the young Corasdottir venturing around the cosmos by herself when she could be safe close to her. Her motherly instincts kicked in the second the princess presented herself as the daughter of the little girl she'd taught everything to, from table manners to how to defend herself from a Bilgesnipe with magic and combat
"If you so wish to, Allmother, aunt Hela can come with me, and we'll be back quicker than you can say 'Chewbacca'" assured Lenora, who had been spending way too much time talking with the Star Wars enthusiast, Peter Parker
"Aunt Hela?" questioned the king, who had barely contributed with the chatter
"Cora says she's family, it's either because she considers you both some sort of guardian figures, or because she's infatuat-"
"It's definitely because she considers you both guardian figures" butted in Hela, with her hand covering Lenora's mouth before she continued
Frigga and Odin, thankfully, didn't question it, and brushed it off as the two being silly after their week-long bonding
"Allmother, Allfather, welcome back princess Hela, and princess Fridda" greeted the gatekeeper the second they all stepped into his work space, not turning his gaze from the stars
"Good evening, Heimdall, how are the realms today?" spoke the king in his own way of greeting
"Harmonious, though, your sons and their friends are about to embark on a quest to, what I believe is, the moon" informed the bronze eyed man, now facing the royals
"I bet you two puddings it was mom's idea" whispered the blonde princess loud enough for the goddess of death to hear
"Pointless bet, it's obvious it was her, you'll have to try harder to get my desserts" countered Hela in the same volume, seriously defensive over her sweet treats, which she had fell in love with immediately after having a taste of the cake Cora made when they celebrated her freedom
"Please, open the bifrost for Thor, Heimdall" ordered the Allfather
"What about Loki, dear?" questioned the queen, though it was ignored by the guilty king
Not even a minute later, the god of thunder stepped through the bifrost, instantly greeting his parents, then waiting for them to introduce the two women
"Thor Odinson, a pleasure, Fridda, Princess of Valhalla" she greeted with a bright smile, extending her hand for the god to kiss "and this is-"
"Son, this is Hela, Hela Odinsdottir, your sister" cut in Odin, earning himself a glare from the fairy princess, though she used that interruption to silently send a spell towards the king and queen to prevent them from referring to her as 'Corasdottir', knowing Hela and Heimdall wouldn't mention her
"H-Hela?" stuttered out the god, looking around like a lost puppy, searching for confirmation that he had not gone insane, that he had not misheard his father, and that he was in fact meeting his sister. The sight almost made Lenora's heart break
"It's nice to finally meet you, bro-" and the rest was muffled by Thor's sudden embrace, tight and breathtaking
- - -
"Are you really gonna make me endure the whole sibling meeting shenanigans? I wanna know how Heimdall screwed me over" whined Cora once again, causing her daughter to roll her eyes
"So pushy" she groaned, fed up with her mother's interruptions, which earned her a wisp of magic to tip her over, she just scoffed
"After a lot of family bonding, you know, stories, questions, 'What's your favourite colour?', 'What beast is the most fun to kill?', 'Have you ever thought about going blonde?', and a whole lot more, we were all still with Heimdall, who deemed it worthy to speak..."
- - -
"Thor, i'm sorry I had to take you away from what seemed to be a very fascinating adventure" started the gatekeeper, with mischievous intentions written all over his bronze eyes
"Oh, yes, lady- the woman you met when we delivered Val" something in his mind made it impossible for him to say the name of her best friend, though he paid no mind to it
"She had this great idea, and after some 'pot stirring', as they call it, she managed to get everyone on board, but worry not, I'm sure I'll get the chance to join them on another opportunity" the god spoke, turning away from his conversation with his sister about the realms they had both visited
"Ah, yes, I've read a lot about that group of people" commented Lenora, causing Thor to do a double take, where else had he heard someone say 'read about' when talking about the avengers?
"Yes, princess, and from what I've seen, you'd get on perfectly with them, they are a very interesting bunch, to say the least" replied Heimdall, suggestively, knowing about the affair between the Valhallan princess and the spiderling
"Yeah..." trailed off Lenora, dreamily looking into the stars, then shaking it away when she realized she was acting questionably
"Did you hear what Thor said? 'Pot stirrer'?" hissed Hela to Heimdall, catching on to the purpose for all the questions
"I think, my King, that princess Fridda and princess Hela would find great friendship in all of them, therefore, why not give them an invitation? I'm sure they'd also be ecstatic to share such an important moment in Thor's life" and there it was, what a mess
- - -
"... and that was basically it, your blonde bestie was on board in a second, good Odin, trying to be a good father agreed, your not-blonde bestie smacked Heimdall without the others seeing, and me, your precious daughter, I stood quietly looking very, very pretty" finished Lenora, waiting for her mother to start yelling profanities any second
Instead, she started laughing
"Are you... did you have any of Alejo's weird ale concoctions?" questioned a worried Lenora when a minute passed and Cora was still rolling over her own laughter
"Oh, fuck, man, I'm done" she sighed, trying to catch her breath, "Sorry, honey" she said taking a deep breath once she felt the giggles trying to start again
"Explain, woman!"
"It's just... he did this to screw you over" Cora concluded, chuckling lightly
"Shut up, no, how?" she asked with narrowed eyes, and chewing her bottom lip, something she did anytime she was thinking hardly
"Listen to your own story! He wanted Peter to go, so you'd be wrecking your brain trying to stay hidden from him now that he knows what you look like" she explained, giddy from her daughter's dismay, as bad as it may sound
"Oh, that son of a- And you're a very shitty mother, you know that?" sighed the young woman, dropping next to Cora in the couch and snuggling against her side in search for comfort
Cora immediately put an arm around her and brushed the tip of her fingers through her hair, still giggling, "This is good, baby, you can meet Pete, and experience something any fairy your age should, you can explain to him who you are, show him your reality, I don't want you living a lie just because I am, it's not fair"
"Thanks, mom, and don't beat yourself up, I got myself tangled into your Midgardian life, I should've just stayed aside, here in Valhalla, my place" she sniffled, she hated feeling that way, like a liability, something she had only ever felt when she'd found out she was adopted
"Silly, silly girl" tutted the woman, sitting up in order to make her daughter face her "my 'Midgardian' life and my 'Valhallan' life, mean shit. You are my daughter, my princess, my little fairy, and you are a part of all of my lives. I never intended for you to feel like you belong solely wherever it is most comfortable for me, you are your own person, and if you choose to go help Peter fight crime in midgard, live in Vanaheim, stay here or join the Valkyries' punk band, I don't care, as long as you let me be a part of that life, just like you are a part of mine. Capeesh? Entendido? Good"
"Okay, maybe you're not such a shitty mom" mumbled Lenora after Cora's very helpful pep talk, causing the former to let a lighthearted chortle
"You bet your ugly ass"
- - -
"Cora, thank god you're back" exclaimed captain Rogers, running to her and hugging her tightly
"We had breakfast together two hours ago, buddy" she let out in a strained voice, trying to get out of the embrace
"They're doing it again" he whined, finally setting her back on her feet, then pointed to the group of heroes in the kitchen, watching amusedly the whole exchange
"Guys! C'mon, you know he doesn't like it, it's bad enough he already has allergies" she defended the crying man, who if you looked at closely, you'd find his nose red as a reindeer and his eyes puffy and red
"But it's just so damn funny" was the perfect excuse from Tony, who was backed by the rest of the bully avengers
"I know, I know, but it's still-" her plea was cut short by the distinctive sound of the captain's explosive, yet somehow dainty, sneezing, and automatically everyone, including Cora who was trying to support him, yelled in unison
"God bless America!"
Which caused uncontrollable laughter to erupt within the heroes, and the butt of the joke, or Steve, to leave the room stumping and sniffing (strictly due to his allergies), with Bucky and Sam close behind trying to cheer him up and assure that they were just messing with him and they'd stop
"You know he's just not gonna stop bitching about it and make you all do extra laps during training, right? And lifting in Pietro's case" Cora said once they were all back to normal and eating their respective lunches
"Yeah? And what about you? Stop excluding yourself from our punishments" accused Clint with a full mouth
"Oh, c'mon, do you really think he's gonna be able to force me into anything? And I can just do my voodoo shit and convince him to leave us out of it, 'us' being Thomas Sharpe and the little witch" she shrugged, sending her magic to get her a chocolate donut from the box in the kitchen
"Thomas Sharpe? I do not look like that buffoon" huffed the god of mischief
"Oh, lolite, is that the young man you thought was hot and wanted to, you know" he winked suggestively as if he was being secretive, when in reality everyone was trying to hold back their laughter, or disgust, which was the case for the youngests in the group
"On second thought, I am pretty much identical to Sharpe" the god hummed with the smugness of a man at the top of the world, which in his mind, wasn't very far from reality, "What do you say, darling? Shall I get a costume and meet you in your chambers?" he questioned flirtatiously, causing the rest to roll their eyes, the teens to cover their ears, and Cora to stumble over her own words
It was a game of sorts, an unspoken one, but a game at last. Whoever got the other more flustered, won, the one who could leave the other at a loss for words, won. After they agreed to be civil, the rage had to go somewhere, so they both found themselves channeling through competitive flirting
Unsurprisingly, they were constantly tied, whenever one succeeded, they were without doubt certain the other was already planning the next move. Just like Cora this morning, when she had purposely dropped juice over the sitting prince and kneeled to dab his lap with a cloth she had conjured up, of course, she was just helping him.
"I'll get you, watch your back, Friggason" she threatened after being unable to come up with a response to his suggestion
"I'll be here all week, princess" he teased with a shit-eating smirk, watching the woman get up from her seat
"For you, it's Queen" and with that she left, leaving the rest of the avengers to let out a collective groan of distress, one they were already used to letting out whenever the two magic users started bickering
"I'm so winning this bet" laughed the scarlet witch towards her brother and her friend
"At this point I will give you an extra fifty just for them to shut up and have eye sex away from us" whispered a disgusted Pietro, who claimed to have an emotional scar forever after witnessing the heated encounters between the queen and the prince
"Amen, brother, amen" mumbled Peter, who was as disturbed as his friends
- - -