The Other Sister

The sunlight filtered through the curtains of my massive bedroom as I lay on my queen-sized bed. My back immediately became hot so I groaned in response. I sat up on my bed and stretched my arms above my head in a cat-like way, trying to get rid of the feeling of drowsiness that lingered in my body. A lady-in-waiting entered the bedroom right at that moment with a tray of water and my clothes for the day.

"Good morning, Your Royal Highness," She said.

"Please, I thought we discussed this. You may address me as Artemis, Astrid. No need for the formalities," I responded.

Inga, Brenna, and Eira filed in after her.

"You must get dressed, Milady. Prince Thor requests your presence in the throne room," Inga said.

"Thor's back from Midgard already?" I asked in excitement.

I rarely saw my brother since he joined the Avengers, every time he came back he would bring a gift of some sort. Biologically related or not, I was his favorite sibling.

I was gifted to Odin and Frigga when I was an infant by Zeus from Mount Olympus. Afraid of repercussions he would face from Hera if he brought two children home, he chose my brother, Apollo, over me. I was bitter for some time as a child, but I soon learned that Frigga and Odin were better parents than Zeus and Hera could've ever been to me.

I stood up, my bare feet engulfed by the fur-covered floor and I looked over to the empty foot of my bed where River usually lay.

"Where's River?" I asked. This was unusual, River was always there when I woke up.

"She drank a little too much water, so Princess Hela took her out for a walk to relieve herself," Eira revealed.

My ladies began helping me out of my sleepwear and into my light blue tunic dress. They laced up my corset and tightened it around my waist. I walked over to my dresser as Brenna braided my hair. I grabbed the dagger under the table and tied the scabbard to my thigh under my dress. Sif told me it was always better to come prepared and although my father hated that I constantly carried a weapon on my persons, I rather listened to the woman who trained me.

I walked out of my bedroom and towards the throne room. I seldom walked around the kingdom barefoot since I liked the feeling of nature brushing against bare skin. Eira huffed and carried my boots. They followed after me out the door.

The walk to the throne room was quick and short. When I entered, I saw my brother in a heated argument with my father. Disregarding this, I called out to him.

"Brother!"

He turned around, a smile immediately lighting up his face. "Artie!" He said.

I ran towards him and jumped into his outstretched arms. He spun me in a circle as I hugged him.

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" I said.

"As have I, sister."

When my feet finally landed on the ground, he looked at me with a proud expression. Being 6 inches taller than me, he slightly looked down to me.

"My, my," Thor said, "Look at how much you've grown since last I saw you. Sif tells me that you've been getting along well with your training and that you can beat her at hand-to-hand combat now."

Sif stood to the side, proudly nodding her head.

"Look, I brought you another gift from Midgard," He said.

He reached into his bag on the side and pulled out a beautiful Midgardian book.

"It's The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1st Edition, one of the best literary authors of Midgard," He said as he handed the slim red book to me, "I hope you'll have as grand a time reading it as I had to find it."

"Brother," Loki's voice boomed as he entered the throne room.

I delicately traced the gold embroidery on the book as my two brothers greeted each other. I looked at my father's face who still held a stern expression on his face.

"What's wrong, father?"

"We'll discuss it in a little moment, my little one. For now, let's let your brother greet everyone first. I'm sure they have all missed him dearly," Odin said as he placed his hand on my shoulder, "I must say, your brother sure does have wonderful taste in novels."

My last sibling arrived in the throne room with a white snow leopard by her side.

"Thor! You're finally home," Hela said warmly.

The leopard ran towards me and circled around my legs. I ran my fingers through her soft fur.

"Hi, River. You have a good walk?"

I most definitely did, Artie. Your sister gave me some treats while we walked the grounds. The weather was rather beautiful today as well.

"What'd she say?" Sif asked as she walked up to me.

"Just how good the weather is outside," I replied.

Alongside the power to create ice, I was gifted the power to speak to animals, telepathy, and wings. Not to brag, I am the more powerful one of our siblings. Mainly due to the fact I was blessed with gifts from my biological Greek parents and my adoptive Norse parents.

"Maybe we should have our training outside then," Sif suggested.

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, you could do with an audience. Especially now that you've advanced. Meet me in the courtyard once you've had breakfast with your family."

"Aren't you gonna join us? You know how much better things are when you eat with us," I asked as I fiddled with my fingers.

She put her hands over mine and stared into my brown eyes with her piercing hazel ones.

"You'll be fine, Artie. Just remember the breathing exercise I taught you. You remember?"

She holds her hand out, parallel to the floor. She slowly begins making an imaginary box. I mirror her actions. As her hand slowly travels upward, she takes in a deep breath, holding it as she moves her hand slowly to the right. She then exhales as she moves her hand back down, completing 3/4 of the square. She holds it as her hand finishes the square.

"Thanks, Sy," I said.

"Anytime, sweetheart," she said. She placed a kiss on my head before looking at me with her twinkling eyes, "Have fun."

My cheeks begin heating up and I turn away. I look down at my right forearm, inspecting the white tattooed leaves that suddenly became very interesting. When I felt that Sif had finally left, I called to River with the flick of my finger.  She immediately appears at my side and we head to breakfast.

Are you BLUSHING??

Shut up, River. Nothing's ever gonna be able to between us. You know that.

If leopards could shrug, she most definitely did.

—

The dining room was not the typical Midgardian dining room. In the place of the windows were balcony-like platforms, letting in the natural golden light.

In the middle of the room was a beautiful oak table with golden legs clawing at the floor. Frigga and Odin sat opposite each other at the ends of the table. Thor sat to Orin's right hand and Hela to his left with Loki sitting next to her.

Thor and Odin were once again engaged in a heated argument.

"It's not safe for her to go," Odin said angrily.

"She's 900 years old— 18 in human years. That makes her an adult on Earth. She's old enough to take care of herself, father. You cannot keep her on Asgard forever."

Hela saw me walking in and said, "Why don't we let her decide for herself."

"Decide what?" I asked as I slid into the empty seat by Thor.

"Would you like to go to Midgard to join the Avengers?"

Unfortunately, I had decided to drink water at that inopportune time causing me to choke. "What?" I said between gasps.

Loki hid a smile as he stared at me choking on water.

"They're looking for new recruits and I suggested that you could join," Thor kindly said.

"Which isn't wise. You are still a child, Artemis," Odin said, "You could get hurt and if that happened whilst you were on Midgard, their technology isn't advanced enough to help gods, you know that."

"She wouldn't be alone, Odin. River would accompany her, Heimdall will watch over her, and Thor and Hela will check in on her," Frigga chimed in.

"Are you really on board with this idea?" Odin asked incredulously.

Frigga shrugged as she ate some of her eggs, "It would be a good learning experience."

"I really want to go, father," I said.

"Artemis..."

I looked into his mind and saw all the scenarios he was imagining where I would end up sustaining a fatal wound and that he wouldn't be able to save me.

I looked at him with my best puppy eyes, "I promise I'll be safe."

"Fine," he grunted.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. I jumped and ran over to him embracing him tightly, "Thank you so much! When do I leave?"

Thor wipes his mouth clean with his napkin before saying, "Tonight."

"That soon?" I said.

"We should get to Midgard as soon as possible. The sooner the better," Thor replied.

"I better start packing then."

I piled my breakfast onto my plate before heading out the door.

"I better go help her," Hela said, following after me.

"I have to go talk to The Warriors Three, father. I'll see you both soon," Thor said before standing up and giving Frigga a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, may I be excused as well?" Loki asked, not wanting to be the only child left with his parents.

"I suppose," Odin said.

Loki got up and quickly exited the room.

"Well, that was almost 15 minutes of family time without fighting. Might be a new record," Frigga said as she noted the time.

—

I hauled out two duffel bags and began placing certain items and clothes inside. Hela started looking through my vanity to make sure there wasn't anything I would need.

"You have your potentia armilla?" Hela asked.

"Yeah, right here," I said.

I flashed my silver bracelet that had an arrow engraved on it. It allowed me to transform into my suit and for my weapons to appear. I rarely used it since I had never been in battle before, but it was still good for me to keep it on just in case. Odin told me to never take it off, so I never have.

Hela placed some of River's favorite treats into a small bag before placing it into one of the dark corners of the duffel bag. She then began using her powers to fashion an extremely deadly... bobby pin?

"Here," she said as she handed me the bobby pin.

"I have plenty of bobby pins, Hela," I amusedly said.

"This is for your protection, dummy. If your weapons ever get taken away or your powers inhibited, you know," she made a stabbing motion.

"Ohhhh, I get it," I graciously accepted the bobby pin and tucked it into my hair.

I slid some of my favorite books, Asgardian and Midgardian, off of my bookshelf and placed them into my bag. I took some clothes out of my dresser and closet and placed them into my bag. I chose a men's tunic shirt, which I stole from my brothers, some of my favorite dresses, and my favorite pants.

Frigga quietly slipped into my room and cleared her throat, "Ahem. Hela dear, do you mind giving us a moment?"

"Of course, mother. I'll be outside," Hela said.

Hela exited the room and that's when I first saw the expression on my mother's face. She looked genuinely sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "Did something happen?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just thought it's time I give you this," she produced a delicate, white, crescent moon necklace.

My hand instinctively reached out and ghosted over the cold material.

"It's your symbol," she said, "It's meant to represent new beginnings. It's also a way for you to find your way home."

She made a motion for me to turn around so she could help me put the necklace on.

"You know I'm gonna come back, right mom?"

"I have no doubt that you will, Artemis. But something tells me that you will want to stay on Midgard for a while."

—

I made my way across the Rainbow Bridge towards the Bifrost where my friends stood, ready to say farewell.

Odin, Frigga, Sif, Loki, Hela, and the Warriors Three all stood in a group in the Bifrost. Thor was talking to Heimdall. Thor dragged his gaze from his friend to me.

"You ready?" He asked. He held out his hand.

"Hold on," I dropped my duffel bag into his outstretched hand and walked over to a solemn-looking Sif.

I cupped her cheeks, "Take care of yourself while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'll be fine, Artie," she said.

"You know what I mean. Don't fall into yourself and become quiet again. Promise me you'll try to be happy and do interesting things while I'm away."

Sif rolled her eyes at me, "Despite what you think, I'm a very interesting person."

I chuckled before walking back to Thor and taking my bag out of his hand.

"Let's go," I said.

Heimdall takes his position and inserts his sword to open up the Bifrost. I follow Thor as he walks into the portal. I steal a glance back to see Sif waving to me, so I wave back.

—

We land in the middle of a crowded square. People walk around us, completely immersed in something on their little digital screens. It's overwhelming. I thread my hand through River's fur to stabilize myself. She looks up at me with her comforting blue eyes.

Thor grabs a hold of my arm.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"Times Square, New York. Heimdall must've accidentally dropped us here," he said, "C'mon, let's catch a cab."

He leads me to the side of the street and hails an ugly-looking yellow car. He opens up the back part of the car and takes my bag out of my hands, placing it into the compartment. He opens up one of the doors and gestures for me to slide in, he slides in after me, his arms easily taking up much of my personal space. River, on the other hand, is occupying the passenger seat much to the driver's dislike.

"Upstate New York, please— Avengers Compound."

The driver grunts as he pulls away from the curb.

—

"Here you go," Thor said as he handed the driver some money.

He stepped out of the car and closed the door.

"Well, here we are," Thor said, pointing to the gray building.

He leads me and River inside the compound and a small man with a weird-looking goatee greets me. He's wearing a pair of colored glasses that neither help him improve his eyesight nor shield his eyes from the sun. There are bags under his eyes, which means he must be very stressed. I take his outstretched hand and shake it.

"You must be Thor's younger sister," he said.

"Yes, I am. My name's Artemis," I respond.

"Tony. And this must be..."

"River," I said.

"Well, welcome to the Avengers Compound. We're so excited for you to join our team, but as your brother may have told you, we have a very rigorous interviewing to ensure that you would be a good candidate for our team."

He leads me into the entertainment area.

"In here is where we host our movie nights, team bonding nights. You can put your bag on the couch there. We'll come back for it."

I drop my bag onto the couch and continue following him as he disappears around a corner.

"Here is our training room. No one's in here at the moment 'cause everyone's out on a mission. So Artemis, wanna show me what you got?"

We step into the weapons range and he brings me in front of a weapons rack.

"Take your pick," he said and gestures to the selection of fine instruments.

I look to Thor for permission and he nods.

My hand trails over the cold metal of a white bow and I pick it up, weighing it in my hand before taking up my shooting stance.

"No arrows?" Tony asks.

I shake my head as I quickly start forming an arrow out of ice with my powers. Tony whistles in awe as I draw the delicate but firm arrow on the bow. I pull back until the string is taut and release.

The arrow gracefully soars in the air and with my powers, I separate it into four smaller arrows, each of which impales itself on a fake target.

"Well done," Tony said as he clapped.

I try handing him back the bow, but Tony refused to take it.

"You can keep it. As a gift," he said, "Is there anything else you can do?"

"Telepathy, animal communication, and..." I trail off as I step back, putting space between me and Tony.

I flex my back and a pair of majestic wings pop out from my back. Each feather is delicate and pure. The color is so white it doesn't seem white anymore.

"Damn," Tony said.

Thor looked at me with a proud expression on his face.

"So..." Thor said as he turned to Tony, "Is she on the team?"

"Hell yeah, she's on the team. We would be honored to have her. Though, I still have to talk to Steve about it," Tony said, "But for now, why don't you show Artemis her night job that she'll have as a cover."

Thor starts leading me out of the training room.

"What about my bag?" I asked.

"Someone will bring it up to your room," Tony responded.

"Great. Thank you so much, Tony."

"No problem, kiddo," he said.

"I'm 900 years old," I respond.

"Yeah, yeah," Tony said as he walked out the opposite door.

"Strange man," I said.

"Tell me about it," Thor said, "So, why don't I show you to your 'job'?"

"Great. What exactly is the job?"

"You'll see. I know that you're gonna love it."

—

A bouncer, dressed in a black dress shirt and suit, pushed open a pair of heavy, black, metal doors with his heavily tattooed hands.

"Thank you, Nathan," Thor said. "Of course, boss," he replied with a gruff Italian accent.

"Actually, my sister here is your new boss," Thor said and gestured to me.

"Artemis," I said, offering my hand to shake his. He took it and kissed the back of my palm, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Odindottir."

I offered him a smile before following Thor into the dark club.

"Nathan there used to work for me and now he's gonna work for you."

"What's his job?" I asked. I'm still not accustomed to Earthly roles so everything is rather confusing.

"His job is to guard the club and make sure that people who aren't allowed to come in here, won't."

"Ohhh."

"Yeah," Thor said as he continued on his tour of the nightclub. He showed me the modern and up-to-date bar with a professional-looking bartender expertly making drinks. He also showed me the kitchen and my office on the second floor.

A couple of drunk people milled about outside the door with a guard standing by the door to make sure they wouldn't try to get in.

"This is Derek," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," I said as I clasped his hand in a firm handshake.

That's when Thor's phone interrupts, loudly. The ringtone cuts through the air as he fishes around in his pockets for it. His hand triumphantly comes up with his phone, the screen flashing.

"I better take this," he said and he walked into my office where it would be more or so quiet.

He emerged minutes later, "I have to head back."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, no," he reassured, "Everything's fine. Get yourself comfortable here and I'll be back at night to pick you up."

He quickly rushed out the entrance, tossing a quick farewell over his shoulder.

I sighed and looked over to Derek. He shrugged in response.

I guess I'm gonna go make myself a drink then.

—

Artemis was busy fashioning herself a margarita when a woman slid into the chair in front of the bar. She clears her throat loudly to get her attention, but being too focused on making her drink, she completely ignored her.

"Excuse me," the woman says.

And that's when Artemis finally looks up. Her breath gets caught in her throat as she sees the most beautiful woman her eyes have ever seen. Her cheeks were a perfect rosy pink, her lips a luscious red cherry color. Her hair cascaded carelessly down her shoulders. Her hazel eyes perfectly contrasted against her deep-set red hair. Her shimmering green dress brought out the green in her eyes ever more so.

"Hi," Artemis barely squeaks out.

She smiles in amusement at this woman's shyness.

Artemis' cheeks immediately blush a crimson red and she clears her throat, trying to maintain what composure she has left.

"Hello," she husks out. Her voice is a deep melodic bird song in the middle of a beautiful summer day. "I don't believe we have met," she says, her words somehow carrying themselves over the sound of the blaring music coming from the dance floor.

"Oh! I'm new here," Artemis says.

"A new bartender? I wasn't aware that Thor had gotten another employee."

"I'm not an employee," Artemis quickly says.

"Then what are you doing behind the bar?"

"I'm actually Thor's sister."

"Really? You're Artemis?"

Artemis nods. "Thor really understated how beautiful you are. Am I the first person on the team to greet you?" She asks in curiosity.

"Yeah— Well after Tony," Artemis says.

She smiles, "Well let me be one of the first people to say, welcome to Earth! You're in for a wild ride! Especially with our team, you'll see; we're party animals."

She offers her a wink before disappearing off into the dance floor.

"Wait! I didn't get your name..." Artemis trails off as she realizes the woman with the flaming hair has disappeared into the crowd of people.