The Brightest Star

Chapter 33 - Go Home

(Kára's POV):
"May I steal you away for the next dance?" I heard a voice ask me almost as soon as I had made it to the sidelines to rest and scan the crowd for Loki.

I sighed, "I am terribly sorry, but might I take one moment to rest before- oh, Loki, I did not realize that it was you."

My fiancé smiled down at me, offering his hand, "I must admit it has been painful to watch all of these other men fawn over you and have the opportunity hold you so close to their hearts, so I have come as a reminder that you belong to me."

"Are you saying that you were getting a bit jealous?" I teased him, gladly letting him lead me out to dance once again.

"Do you blame me when I have somehow managed to obtain the heart of the most beautiful and intelligent woman in all of Asgard? Not that I do not trust you with the other men, as you have said yourself, you know how to take care of yourself and you will not leave me. But even so, I do not like the look in some of your partners' eyes."

"Thank you for finding me, Loki, I was beginning to think I was going to have to dance the entire evening away and not have the chance to stop and find you," I smiled at him, reveling in the feeling of being in Loki's arms once again.

"Would you like to step out and get some air?" He asked, probably realizing how tired I was getting after being on my feet for the majority of the evening.

"I would love that," I answered, letting him lead me through the crowd and onto a balcony overlooking the realm. I sighed, enjoying the astounding view from the palace. "It is truly beautiful seeing the world from here."

"And you can almost glimpse where you grew up," Loki added, using my arm to point to the house that my family was currently inhabiting.

I shook my head as I sat on the railing, "I still cannot truly believe that this is happening, it seems far too much like a fairy tale."

"Kára, please be careful," Loki taking my hand with a firm grip as he eyed the railing nervously.

"Loki, I am a talented witch, I think I know how to keep myself from falling off of a balcony," I laughed, although feeling a sense of warmth flood through my veins as he worried about me.

Loki was silent for a moment before asking me, "you have not returned home since that night we shared in the gardens, do you miss you family?"

"Of course I do, it has only been a few weeks but I have never spent this long apart from them. But at the same time, while I am here, I know that they are living comfortably and I am willing to never see them again to ensure their happiness. That and I cannot deny that I have grown very happy here, despite getting engaged to the jealous and less popular Prince," I teased, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"I would be careful if I were you, then," he warned, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. "That prince of yours may come out and find us out here alone and his jealousy may overtake him."

"I think I am willing to take that chance," I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and placing my lips on his.

When we broke apart, Loki spoke, "you should go to your family tonight, tell them the news. I have no idea how much freedom you will have once Odin decides to imprison me and I do not want your last opportunity to see them wasted on spending the night with me."

"That would not be wasting, Loki, I want to spend as much time with you as possible before you get locked up in that miserable cell," I assured him, hating how we had already resigned to the fact that Odin was not going to fairly deliver justice.

He smiled, "I am sure that you will find a way to visit me while I am locked up, but I do not have as high hopes that you will be able to sneak off of the grounds."

"If you are sure that you are alright with me not spending the night with you, I would love to visit my family. Thank you Loki," I replied, resting my head against his chest. "It is not fair that you are getting treated in this way. The only crime that you really committed was trying to kill all of the frost giants, your actions on Midgard were not entirely your fault."

"I think that Odin views things differently. Besides, after discovering how I have impacted the lives of the Asgardians, even commoners such as yourself, I find myself believing that I do deserve a cell. My only regret is that it will tear me apart from you."

The celebration continued on late into the night, but once Odin left Loki and I felt that we could depart as well without it being considered rude. Once back at his room, Loki helped fasten my cloak over my gown giving me a kiss, "enjoy yourself tonight, Kára, I am sure that your family will be thrilled to see you again."

"Do not wait up for me, I do not know how long I shall be gone," I replied summoning the two novels I had picked out for my brothers before teleporting to the gardens, from which I snuck off of the palace grounds then teleported to my home. I knew that my family was most likely asleep again, but I knocked on the door regardless, not wanting to waste this moment to see them.

"Kára, we were not expecting to see you!" Saga exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck, all traces of sleep quickly disappearing from her face. "Everybody get up, Kára's visiting again!"

I smiled, "Saga, how have you been? I apologize that I did not come to visit sooner and I am afraid that this may be my last visit for a long time."

"Really, why?" She replied, ushering me inside while the rest of my family came out to see me.

"Well, I suppose I should start by handing out gifts," I deflected the question, presenting the two books. For Tormod, I had stolen a book detailing the history of Asgard and tales of Asgardian warriors for Brynjar. "I promised that I would have presents for the boys next time I visited and I do not break my promises."

"What has been going on at the palace? Have you met any of the other royals yet? How is Prince Loki?" Erna immediately started firing off questions as I removed my cloak and sat at the table. "And where did you get that gorgeous dress?"

I laughed lightly at her enthusiasm, "I actually just came from a ball, that is why I am here so late at night."

"Kára, is that ring what I think it is?" Aasveig questioned, her eyes trained on my engagement ring.

"Oh, well I suppose I must talk about that first. I really have the most wonderful and surprising news, I am engaged to be wed to Prince Loki," I confessed, watching as a mixture of confusion, excitement, and even distaste flash over the faces of my family.

"Prince Loki? Really that was the Prince that you chose?" Tormod replied, seeming a bit disgusted by my decision.

"Tormod! Kára is marrying a prince, this is incredible news!" Saga reprimanded him, taking my hand to get a better look at the ring. "All that matters is that she loves him and will live in comfort for the rest of her life."

"You do love him, correct?" Aasveig asked a bit skeptically, most likely wondering how anyone could learn to love the God of Mischief.

"Of course I do," I responded, although I could hear my hesitations towards the marriage present in my voice. "Despite what people say, he can be incredibly caring and is extremely intelligent and is always able to make me smile with his tricks. I love him dearly, but I suppose I do feel that our relationship is moving far too quickly. I mean, the only reason we got engaged was because he thought that it would dissuade Odin from locking him up in the dungeons. I feel barely know him and yet I promised myself to him for life. Although I doubt that our engagement even means anything as he is most likely going to be imprisoned anyway."

"Loki is going to be sent to the dungeons?" Aasveig questioned, looking surprisingly sympathetic.

I nodded, "Odin said he was going to base his decision on how Loki acted at the ball tonight, but we both know that he is just going to lock him up regardless of how well behaved he was tonight. That is actually why I am here, I wanted to inform you of my engagement and perhaps spend my final night with you. I will be remaining at the palace, but I have no idea if I will be able to sneak out and visit you after tonight."

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(A/N): Have a nice long chapter tonight! I apologize for the scene back home being a bit rushed, but I felt that a lot of it would simply be rehashing things that you already know have happened. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Loki and Kára's little balcony scene!