Mischievous

Epilogue

        In the years following Malekith's invasion of Asgard and his subsequent demise thanks to no other than yours truly, life kept chugging along. Odin, ever so gracious as he is, finally came to the conclusion that I did not kill his wife. Forget the fact that I'd been telling him this since Frigga's untimely death, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Plus, I was happy to accept my new freedom as I was no longer deemed a treasonous fugitive to the kingdom.

        This meant I was free to travel about the city to my heart's content. In all actuality, I just took it as an opportunity to visit my grandparents in the woods along with my father every weekend. They told us stories from my mother's childhood and always had some fantastic dessert prepared prior to our arrival. I was allowed to continue using my mother's room when I stayed over, but I never dared move around any of her belongings. Instead, I let the room act as a shrine to commemorate a woman who didn't deserve to be gone, and so at the very least should never be forgotten.

        In other good news, Lilja finally became my friend again! It had taken a significant amount of apologizing and begging for forgiveness to convince her to hang out with me again, and yet part of me felt as though nothing had ever truly changed between us. Every now and then we'd pull a prank or two, but not to the extent of our previous shenanigans. She insisted on once again becoming my servant which I permitted though I never truly treated her as such.

        Something I'd realized months later was that Summer no longer existed. Well, she did sort of, but after I'd momentarily been dead and returned less of an absolute imbecile we'd kinda merged into one person. Which made sense, I suppose. After all, she'd originally just been everything that was good about me, the compassion I'd refused to show for fear someone would use it against me. One might say I was a real individual now!

        Anyway, I'm eighteen. Super old, I know, but I'm in for the treat of my life because today I finally become an official goddess of Asgard. I didn't realize that's a title they hand out willy-nilly nowadays, but I certainly am not complaining.

        I've grown out my hair, but only to my collarbones. I think I look more mature that way, and it's definitely better than that horrible, angled cut I'd done almost a decade ago. Taking a final glance in the mirror at the gown Lilja made for me, I headed toward the throne room.

        Odin sat at the far end of the room, flanked on either side by his sons. Hundreds of Asgardians had gathered, standing so that there was a small path toward the throne for me to walk down. Keeping my head high, I smiled as I walked toward the King. I had been through so much to get here to this moment. I refused to be anything other than confident.

        "Winter Lokisdóttir, Savior of Asgard," declared Odin, as I kneeled before him. "As you finally become an adult after a perilous and tumultuous childhood, I hereby decree that you find a place of your own within these hallowed halls. It is my honor to introduce all of Asgard to their new Goddess, the Goddess of Growth and Transformation."

        A smirk graced my lips as he revealed my new title. I thought it was quite fitting. I wasn't the selfish, rebellious girl I'd been just years ago. No, I had become someone new, and I was proud to know that as I continued to spend my days on this plane of existence, I could be a role model to all the kids younger than me that just wanted to be recognized as themselves and show the world just how unique they truly were.