Destiny

3

Wanda stepped into the frozen ground, thankful for the heavy fur that hung around her shoulders. She held back all hesitation and doubt as the group marched forward towards the palace ruins.

The air fell deathly silent as they entered the ruins. There was a massive throne carved ornately from a block of pure ice. And upon the throne sat Laufey, king of Jotunheim, father of Loki and Sylvie.

"What brings you here?" Laufey says ominously, voice colder than the frozen air he breathed.

"Hello, father. Nice to see you too. We were just wondering why did you send mercenaries to try and steal the Casket?" Loki says sarcastically.

"We should just get this over with and kill him. It would be much easier than negotiating." Hela mutters to Wanda.

"A good queen never seeks out war, Hela." Wanda reminds her with a genuine smile.

"You're all optimism and rainbows, aren't you?" Hela says dryly, rolling her eyes. 

"You broke the peace treaty, Laufey. Do you truly wish another war upon what remains of your people?" Thor says proudly, as if he's certain of his victory.

"Do you truly wish war upon your people, Thor son of Odin?" Laufey says ominously, tilting his head. He locks eyes with Wanda, immediately seeing the untapped power buried within her psyche. "There is a threat to all reality hiding within the house of Odin. A being beyond comprehension. A girl whose soul has been marked by a demon of the ancient world. Tales and songs have been spread across the cosmos of her prophesied arrival in our universe. I just didn't expect the most powerful being in all existence to come before me as a young, fragile woman forced to contain a power she is destined to set loose upon everyone. I see no Scarlet Witch here, only a scared little girl who refers to herself as such."

These words tore into the old wounds of Wanda's childhood. Always knowing how powerful she was, but being told to suppress her power and act like a lady. She didn't want to be looked down upon like a child anymore. She wanted someone to see her as an actual person, as a grown woman who can make her own decisions and choose her own destiny.

"I am not a scared little girl." Wanda says angrily, walking out in front of everyone. She looks up at the towering Frost Giant king, no longer feeling the intense fear that had been drilled into her in her youth. "And you are not in any position to pose threats, King Laufey of Jotunheim. My people defeated you once, we will do it again." She conjures an orb of red energy in her hand, manifesting the correct runes within it. "Adhere to the treaty, or there will be hell to pay."

Laufey recognized that he would be no match if she were to embrace her full power, so he surrendered out of fear. "I do not wish to inflict the wrath of the Scarlet Witch upon my people this day." Laufey says, genuine fear in his eyes.

Wanda smiled to herself, finally feeling a small shred of confidence. For once in her life, she proved herself. All she had to do was show Laufey what fate of his kingdom would be if he brought the wrath of Asgard down upon himself again.

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