On a high balcony overlooking Asgard's grand celebration hall, Odin and Frigga stood side by side.
Below them, on a lower terrace, Garfield sat between angels and elves, surrounded by tension and absurdity in equal measure.
Frigga watched the scene for a long moment, then smiled faintly and pointed downward.
"That child's fortune with women is remarkable." She said softly.
"For a moment, if I did not know his origins, I would have thought he was yours, that you had secretly left some illegitimate daughter wandering the realms."
The air shifted.
Odin's single eye narrowed slightly as he sensed a faint, suppressed killing intent ripple through the shadows.
Decades, no, millennia of warfare had honed his instincts. He did not miss such things.
"You know I love you." He said quickly.
"Of course." Frigga replied, her smile unchanged.
Odin felt that if this line of conversation continued even one exchange further, something catastrophic might occur. Wisely, he changed the subject.
"I only sent a symbolic invitation to Silver City." He said.
"I never expected them to take it so seriously. To send their eldest son, Amenadiel… and that other angel. It is unexpected."
Frigga's gaze shifted to Angela.
After a brief pause, she frowned slightly.
"Tell me." She said slowly, "why do I think that girl looks… familiar?"
Odin stiffened.
"Frigga." He said carefully, "You know better than anyone, the one I have the deepest enmity with in this life is the treacherous Angel Queen."
Hatred flickered in Frigga's eyes.
"You should have annihilated them all with the Bifrost back then." She said coldly.
So many years had passed, yet the pain of losing their youngest daughter had never faded.
Odin sighed.
"With the World Tree as its foundation, the Ten Realms are bound by connections unlike any other." He said.
"When we severed the Tenth Realm and cast it into exile, we took an immense risk. Though it was banished beyond our space, its link to the World Tree was never fully broken."
He paused, then continued.
"The people of Silver City differ from us in belief and custom, but they are still a race born of divinity. I suspect… There may still be threads connecting them."
Frigga barely listened.
Her eyes never left Angela.
"Odin," She said quietly, "Look at her again. Doesn't she resemble us?"
Odin hesitated. Then, divine power stirred.
Before them, a projection formed, Angela's likeness rendered in radiant detail.
Beside it, Odin conjured mirrored images of himself and Frigga, adjusting proportions, features, traces of divine essence.
They stared in silence.
The resemblance was undeniable. A strange unease settled into both their hearts.
Odin thought…
Could Silver City and the remnants of the Ten Realms be working together? Is this some scheme meant to challenge my throne?
Frigga thought…
Could it be… our child lived?
"Husband."
"Frigga."
They turned to one another and spoke their thoughts aloud.
As Frigga finished, Odin's expression darkened.
"There is a possibility." He said slowly. "That the Angel Queen did not kill our daughter after all."
"Perhaps, in her own twisted way, she sought to preserve her life. But before she could present her conditions, I struck in wrath and exiled her realm."
His voice grew colder. "If so, Angela may have been raised to hate me. To seek vengeance."
He clenched his fist.
"Or." He continued, "This is a calculated deception, a false angel crafted to resemble us, sent to sow doubt and undermine my rule."
Odin's eye gleamed with resolve.
"Either way." He said, "Nothing escapes my sight."
He drew Frigga into his arms and held her tightly.
"My queen." He said softly, yet with iron certainty, "If she is truly our daughter, I will not hesitate to wage war to bring her home."
His voice dropped, thunder rumbling beneath it. "And if this is a desecration, if they dare use the image of our dead child as a tool then I will make them pay in blood."
Such domineering resolve made Frigga smile. She stepped closer and gently kissed Odin's cheek.
"I have always believed in you." She said softly. "Do what you must."
Odin gave a low grunt in response, then turned and strode away, his cloak trailing behind him like gathering thunder.
Left alone, Frigga gazed down at the balcony below.
Her eyes lingered on Angela, her expression layered with longing, doubt, and pain that even a queen could not erase.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
As a well-educated orange cat, Garfield suddenly recalled something from his ideological upbringing.
The enemy will always try to approach you with kindness, the lesson went. They erode your will, corrupt your mind, and soften you with sweetness.
The correct response is simple… Eat the sugar coating.
Return the shell intact.
If possible, send back a few extra shells for good measure.
Garfield's eyes gleamed, then let's do it properly.
With a look of sincere delight, he stretched out his claws and calmly accepted both the Archangel Armor and the Great Elf Armor, slipping them neatly into his pocket.
Then he bowed politely, first to Amenadiel, then to Angela and the elves.
"Thank you for your generosity." Garfield said warmly. "I'll accept these gifts for now."
"Should they prove useful in the future, I will certainly arrange… appropriate compensation."
Amenadiel froze.
For a moment, he couldn't quite reconcile this composed, smooth-talking orange cat with the cautious creature he'd been dealing with earlier.
Angie and Fran stared at Garfield in disbelief.
They had not expected him to shamelessly accept offerings from both factions.
Garfield casually placed his paws over Angie's and Fran's hands and said with practiced sincerity,
"Elves and Asgard are close comrades-in-arms. Friends. Our friendship will not be shaken by one or two trifling matters."
Cunning.
That was the new word Fran and Angie silently added to their mental description of Garfield.
Amenadiel, however, nodded thoughtfully.
"Your phrasing is impeccable." He said earnestly. "I should learn from you."
After Amenadiel stepped aside to confer briefly with Angela, Garfield seized the opportunity and excused himself.
For reasons they couldn't explain, Fran and Angie suddenly didn't want to let him leave.
The moment Garfield slipped away, they ignored the angels entirely and hurried after him.
Angela watched the orange cat disappear with the elves.
The temper she'd been suppressing finally exploded.
"That disgusting cat!" She snapped. "Greedy, shameless, he even took gifts from both sides and wrapped it all in pretty words!"
"Men really are awful!"
"Cough." Amenadiel cleared his throat gently.
Angela shot him a glance and waved a hand. "I'm not talking about you, brother. You're a good man, just not our type."
She crossed her arms, frowning. "That orange cat looks cute."
"Makes you want to hold him and pet him. But underneath it is a total scoundrel. You'll have fun dealing with him in the future."
"…" Amenadiel said nothing.
At some point, his clever little sister had become frighteningly sharp-tongued.
The only other person in Silver City who spoke like that was… Lucifer.
Amenadiel's thoughts drifted, unbidden, to his fallen brother. He wondered how Lucifer was faring in Hell now.
Perhaps he should have taken better care of him back then.
Fran and Angie soon caught up with Garfield. Angie stepped in front of him, blocking his path, her expression dark.
"Your Highness." She demanded, "Care to explain why you accepted those winged people's gifts?"
Garfield smiled calmly and replied without hesitation.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream