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For the first time in what seems like ever, Crystal had a chance to stretch herself. To let her talents loose and try herself against something bigger and more dangerous than herself. It was exhilarating. And in the company of Asgardians, it was also…an odd contrast. Among the mutants, she has to hold herself back for the most part. Among the Asgardians, she's out measured, at least physically. But the fights of the past few days were enough to remind her that she's been slacking on her own physical training.
Largely public places are out of the question, of course. Too many human onlookers. But the mansion itself has its own population she'd rather not demonstrate in front of. So, after their visit to the woods for giants, Crystal decide there were plenty of public lands that would do just fine for her purposes.
It's a park not too far out of Westchester, one with running paths and camping grounds, but on a weekday in the fall, it's relatively deserted, which has allowed her to let loose and go for a full out run. She's flushed as she finishes, breathing hard, but there's a certain satisfaction to it as she leans her hands onto her knees.
*
Amora had avoided the other Asgardians after her nightmare fueled meeting with Karnilla. She had fashioned a wire wrapping around the quartz, and it dangled around her neck from a golden chain. Still, she had not used the stone, either unbelieving of Karnilla's promise that it would return her heart, or perhaps believing it entirely too much.
The former, Enchantress of Asgard therein found herself with nothing further to do. Nothing to command her attentions, no urges to amass power, goods or other such things. After all, what was the point when she felt nothing whatsoever?
Still, a bored immortal often causes trouble. And Amora was perhaps the worst offender in this case. A few attempts to scry over those she knew resided in Midgard and she found Crystal. Oh she watched the Inhuman Princess for some time, before as chance allowed, she was able to plot a course to run into the woman.
'Accidentally on purpose' came to mind, but there Amora stood where Crystal came to a halt. panting for air. The cool weather clearly agreed with the blond goddess, for she was wrapped in a verdantly green sweater and high waisted black jeans. Just as perfect in appearance as always.
"Well, I see you're still in one piece, Princess."
*
It never fails, really. Allow yourself to have a few hairs out of place, and the most beautiful woman in nine realms will show up to add contrast.
Crystal tucks the loose hair that's escaped from her ponytail behind her ears, straightening up and wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her arm. It's about all she can do, because the sweatpants and t-shirt she's wearing can't even be salvaged. "It is a goal of mine, yes," she replies, giving the other woman a cautious look. Things with the Enchantress were not left as she would have liked.
"You look as lovely as ever, Amora. What brings you out here?" Please don't murder me, I'm not sure I'd win that fight.
*
A hooked brow of gold arched upwards at Crystal's words as she looked down at the Princess from her full height. She hadn't bothered much of a glamour here outside, and she rolled a shoulder back with a regal air, golden curls spilling over her back. A hand settled on her hip as she shifted her weight. The goddess continued to eye the Princess before her, remaining silent for a long moment before she chose to speak, letting the moment stretch out to the point of being uncomfortable.
"An unfortunate one, I'm sure many feel. Still, not a goal that I would aid in. Pity," She sighed, lifting her gaze to the trees around them and back. "As for my business, Princess.. that would be you."
*
"Oh, I suspect most would settle for dead without bothering with the pieces," Crystal replies evenly. "But that, I'm afraid, is nothing new." She's spent nearly half of her life on the run, after all. When Amora names her as her business, she dips her chin slightly, starting down the path again at a walk as if expecting her to follow. "What can I help you with, then?" she asks. Every opponent has a weakness, her cousin's voice whispers in her ear. All those boring games of chess, suddenly played out in the flesh.
*
Amora walks alongside Crystal as the other woman started forward, long legs easily keeping pace. Her hips swaying in a natural rhythm that had there been more than a few animals around in the forest, might have drawn the eye. Still, for the moment they were alone. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. Pieces and bits are so satisfying to the more barbaric among us. Utterly uncivilized when there's magic out there.." Her words were flat, and held no inflection whatsoever.
"I don't think you can be of any service to me, Princess. Nor I to you. After all, the All-father has cast me out to another land, under a different Queen. Whatever power you hold over the Crown Prince means nothing to me now."
*
"I was sorry to see it all come out that way," Crystal says quietly, with genuine regret in her voice, chin dipping. "It wasn't the fate I would have chosen, but as you say, I had little power to do anything about it." She takes a few more steps in silence, save for the crinkling of a few early leaves underfoot. "Well. If there's nothing I can offer you, and nothing you would offer me, then what is this business to be, Enchantress? Threats?"
*
Silence thickened between the two as Amora remained silent, save the crunch of leaves underfoot and their footfalls on the woodland path. The wind high above shook the leaves with a light merriment, sending the various dried orange and yellow hued branches trembling. Still, Amora remained silent for a long moment. Finally she stopped, tilting her head upwards to peer at the brilliantly colored sky above.
"No. I came to tell you that you need not fear of such. I feel nothing for you, nor the Thunderer any longer. He seemed to see me as no longer a threat to you, or Midgard. But I doubt he sought to tell you as much."
*
"No, he didn't," Crystal agrees, head tilting slightly as she considers the other woman. "Though in truth, I think he…didn't want to believe you ever were. He cares for you in his own way. He sees the best in people, and it's hard not to care about someone who so clearly cares about you."
In the wooded paths of a park outside Westchester, Crystal and Amora walk and talk. The princess hardly looks the part at the moment in too-large sweatpants and t-shirt, flushed and sweating from exercise with her hair pulled back into a tail. Amora, as usual, is flawless. "Why do you feel nothing?" she asks eventually.
*
Fandral decided to go for a run, perhaps to just release some tension. He had been away for a few days on some personal errands but it did not appear that they were fruitful because Fandral returned in a sour mood. A good run was just what he needed to burn off some steam. He makes his way down the trail and then slows as he comes upon Lady Amora and Princess Crystalia. He makes a point of stopping and bows, "Ladies, good day to you. I apologize for my unkempt appearance but I did not expect to run into anyone out here."
*
A slow shake of her head follows as Amora folds her arms, her weight shifting upon her booted heels. "He doesn't care about me, Princess that would be foolish to assume. No—" Further comment halts at the sound of Fandral's approach and she turns her attention back to the blonde god. Her features a perfect blankness, drawn to a perfection that one would assume her to be a painting rather than real.
As the dashing warrior of Asgard spoke she inclined her head, "Fandral." Her voice just as flat as before. "I should depart, I have said my piece."
*
Westchester is the domain of a great many interesting personages, and one of them would scarce claim the outlying countryside and small-town patchwork quilt her demesnes. At least the landward side of it; the young woman dancing on the cloud tops cares far more for the stars and the cumulonimbus barques streaked faintly grey on their bottoms, hinting to the prospects of a darker turn to the weather to come. Still, sunshine races through them and might cast shadows for anyone in a position to see an alacritous, slender silhouette painted upon them. Chances are, however, none will. Flight paths don't tend to follow this part of the valley, and the precedence for much higher altitude means the redhead spiralling and tumbling aloft for the sheer joy of it simply won't register to the primitive technological systems used by modern aircraft.
Besides, what are the copilots going to tell one another? 'Did you see that flying mermaid?' … 'Sure, Bob, just like I saw a giant flying lion-dog twenty meters long back over Ohio.'
Eventually all things come to earth, though, and another of those soaring arcs sends Scarlett tumbling in rapid doodle scribbles threading a parabola. She drops headfirst towards the trees, and very possibly seems fit to impale herself on an oak branch before bleeding speed off, and a swing upwards over the canopy sends a wild rustling of leaves loosening from boughs, pouring down on those in the vicinity.
*
Crystal turns at the sound of an approach, smile taking on a rueful curve at Fandral's apology. "Welcome to the club," she laughs softly, gesturing to herself. "Meetings are Wednesday nights at nine."
Amora's response draws her back though, a faint frown flickering across her features. "Amora, you seem…" But before she can find the word, there's the rustling of leaves from above like the attack of some great bird. Or a Rogue. Could go either way, really. Her chin jerks up, along with a defensive hand as the wind starts to swirl around her.
*
"Cooler these days," Fandral finishes the sentence his eyes searching Amora's to understand what has happened to the passionate Enchantress. "I'm sorry that you can't stay but I do hope the day serves you well." He then pauses as Scarlett does her odd arrival. He looks at her with surprise and then greets, "Lady Scarlett…that was an interesting entrance. How are you?" He looks across to Crystal as if to ask if the young woman is arriving to join her.
*
At the shaking of leaves above, a frown mars Amora's features and she steps back. Her gaze searching the branches above until she spots Scarlett's figure above. "I seem what, Princess?" She arched a brow as she spoke, her voice just as detached as it had been before. Her cool green eyes flicker over Fandral and linger for a long moment, before she looked back above to Scarlett.
"My business with the Princess has been dispatched, it is less that I must go and more that I should. It seems the Norns do not weave the world so that I might not be accosted by others."
*
A rapid spiral corrects the canopy-skimming pass, and then another flatline loop crosses her own path as Scarlett finds an opening in the thickly painted leaves. Arms cross to her chest and she drops, momentum forcing her down and forward on staggering steps. The first few force her into a bound, leaving deep treads cut into the forest floor, and then the next become almost normalized. Chrysanthemums largely haven't survived her foray up there, but several pinned in their merlot and burgundy profusion adorn thin braids that might look eminently suitable to that her secret pastime is revealed. A hand is lifted, palm out, glove etched in forest green.
"My ladies, my lord!" A merry greeting; this might be the happiest any have heard her upon Midgard, at least since her return to the middle realm. "Fair afternoon to you." One can hope it's still afternoon. "An accosting in the middle of the woods? Was it a cougar, this time, or that benighted stag-bear creature that escaped from Central Park?"
*
"Detached," Crystal answers Amora once she's had a moment to think it over. "Curiously detached." When the source of the rustling in the leaves is revealed, she lets the winds around herself fall, smile quirking despite herself. "Scarlett," she greets, smoothing a hand over her hair once again. "You, on the other hand, seem quite cheerful." A pause, as she looks between the other two women. "Is this some sort of…exchange of energies spell?" She's reached the stage now where she can imagine magic - she just has no real idea how it works.
*
"I apologize if I intruded into your conversation with the princess, Lady Amora," Fandral offers as she mentions being 'accosted' when trying to talk to Crystalia, "I do hope you have a good day." He seems as if he wants to say something more but he stops himself by looking away. He then shifts his feet as the moment turns awkward and then seeks to distract himself by turning back to Scarlett, "And you my dear are delightfully chipper. It suits you. Any hints on what has brought this on?"
*
A dry look is aimed toward Crystal, and Amora shifts her weight upon her feet. Yet she offers nothing in response, merely looking back toward Scarlett and Fandral in turn. "I am a lady of the Eternal Realm no longer, please refrain from addressing me as such. There's no point for it. I dislike the reminder.." She muttered stiffly, her brows furrowing before she looked back to Crystal again.
"There is no such spell, much less why Scarlett would cast it is nonsense. I am not without 'energy' I merely don't care. There is a decided difference."
*
"Forgive me, but the crispness and clarity of the day begged for a quick jaunt. It's much less pleasant deeper into November," murmurs the redhead, a quick explanation tendered while she remembers the whereabouts of her land-legs. Those boots serve an ideal purpose, thick soled and sturdy, secured amply around her ankles to lend Scarlett a solid platform until she remembers the way gravity embraces her like an invisible lover. One she spurns so often, but Gaea is ever faithful and understanding of her wayward children, one and all. "You are a lady nonetheless to me, but as you wish, Amora." The use of a given name is what must be; titles, broken and bleeding, must be restrained in the face of such vitriol cast flat. She shakes her head anyways, petals tumbling to earth. "Not an exchange I had any part in, Crystal. As she is superior in the art to I, and a friend besides, I would never attempt such a casting without permission. Did another have something to do with it, I confess I haven't noticed it, though it seems unlikely." Sometimes a good mood is just a good mood.
*
"You're the goddess of love. How can you not care?" Crystal's brows furrow at Amora, though she at least has the sense to take a step back when she asks the question. Still, something is not right here. Eventually she's going to realize there are some things it's better not to pursue. "I'm sorry," she shakes her head. "It is your business and none of mine. But I thank you for bringing me your message, Amora. And for the message itself." It's always nice to hear someone doesn't care enough to chop you into pieces.
*
Fandral bows again in acknowledgement of her wishes, not wishing to answer the woman further. He seems at a loss on how to talk to the new Amora because his senses are picking up on nothing…just emptiness. It disturbs him as he studies Amora, but in his wisdom stops questioning as well.
*
Amora raised a hand in tandem with her shoulder rolling back in a shrug. "Tis an easier thing than one would assume, Princess. A prospect I have found myself enjoying. A goddess of love, desire? No longer, I fancy that I shall take up a new domain. Though as to what that shall be has been left undecided for the moment. Perhaps of the void, or hollow spaces. There are a great many of those in the cosmos." Her smile was chilled as she stepped back, her gaze sweeping over Fandral's bow of acknowledgement and back to Scarlett.
"I see you are in one piece as well, I'm sure the Prince was happy to note it. My duty thus discharged in your safety and education it would seem. Happy tidings indeed." She murmured.
*
Fingertips curl to palms, arms braced to the sides. Scarlett's slanting emerald gaze catches the sunlight, pupils constricted to pinpoints in spite of the sylvan gloom further in. "Oh happy occasion, what sweet music! Are we to don cloth of gold and party hats to celebrate your new portfolio, o Amora of Asgard, and my accession to… what, exactly?" She stands upon tiptoe, tilted forward from the waist, not enough to constitute a bow and not enough to mark her words remotely serious. This instead straddles a very thin line of mercurial curiosity and teasing loaded for bear. Cave bear, as it were. Fingers loop around one of her loosened braids, errantly teasing it this way and then that on a rotation, leaving little room. "For you, no doubt it might be something like reflections, insight? How one goes about claiming a domain, I haven't the foggiest. But assuredly it will make for interesting tidings, nonetheless. Though to hear it, none have formally severed our connection so until the Princes say otherwise, I fear I do what I may in your good name as appropriate."
*
Crystal casts a sidelong glance toward Fandral, quirking a brow. This isn't normal, right? It's actually strange? Odd enough, at least, that the princess is at a loss for how to respond to the goddess' suggestion. Leaving Amora in Scarlett's capable hands, she takes a step toward Thor's companion instead. "If I'd known someone else was likely to want to go for a run, I would have invited you," she notes, smile flickering.
*
Fandral is grateful for the distraction, turning his musings about Amora to instead regard Crystal with a smile, "Well, I only just got back from my trip and a good run was needed. I imagine you were probably already out here when I made the decision to run the trails." He takes a step away from Scarlett and Amora, giving them a little space, "I'm afraid it wasn't a good trip but I'm hopeful the next lead will be more fruitful."
*
Amora took a step back at Scarlett's approach, her gaze lingering on the redhead as she noted the other two's movement to the side. "You are no longer my responsibility, Scarlett. Whatever sentiment drew me to see your education and safety is assuredly no more. The Prince is now in charge of your Midgard's safety and through it, your own, I assume. You must be pleased indeed for such a return. For myself, however, you no longer hold any interest. May you find an easy path before you.."
With that, Amora inclines her head and turns, starting to walk off down the trail that she and Crystal had taken previously.
*
Space is roughly as relevant as time where the redhead is involved. She tips her head, and the parting blow may be thought Amora's. Mostly. "You know even this torment she inflicts will pass, Amora. He will find a way to cease your suffering once he knows. And he will."
It's a promise spoken in vagaries, but then so often Scarlett runs in a confusing path verbally. She turns, then, joining the other two with something of a shadowed look to her eyes. "Forgive that little interlude."
*
"I find a good run and a little exercise is always a good way to clear my head," Crystal nods to Fandral. "Though it seems like lately I've hardly had time for it. I decided today I'd stop waiting for the right time and just…come out here and run." As Rogue rejoins them, she gives the other woman a brief, concerned look. "There's nothing for you to apologize for," she shakes her head. "Though I worry about Amora. Not that I necessarily want her back to rage or wanting to see me dead, but…Something was not right there. It wasn't just me, was it?"
*
"No, the Amora I've known for centuries would have never acted that way," Fandral confirms Crystal's concerns, "It bothers me but I do not see how to help her. She does not even appear to want to be helped…more's the pity." He sighs and runs his hand through his hair, giving Scarlett a half smile, "You did nothing wrong. It's…she's different, changed. The Queen must have done something to her."
*
Arm crossed over her torso, Scarlett's fingers brace against her hip, pinning the material of her heavy coat to her body. She is tall, by human standards, less by Asgardians, though the conscious diversion of her thoughts has completely untethered her from the ground again. Leaves and dirt have a shadow cast by her boots, leaving an inch of clearance between them. "The prince will not like to hear what I know, but likely I need to speak with him, or have word passed on." There isn't a point to delaying beyond the tramp of the Enchantress' boots through the woods; the gauntlet is already categorically thrown.
“Does Thor know that the Norn Queen tortured her throughout the whole of her apprenticeship? She hates none more, save mayhap her sister. Her’s was a brutal initiation, like building fires that quenched the instant she scoured the hearth and lit the logs for months on end. Amora is capable of hyperbole, but not to that degree." She rolls her wrists upwards, bones cracking. "Not even a barbed comment. She hasn't been the same since the autumnal equinox. Something in her is barren, even missing, where it never was before."
*
Crystal reaches up to pull the tie from her hair, brushing her fingers through it to try to pull the rest in before she starts to braid it over her shoulder instead. "Whether or not Thor knows, it seems unlikely to me that the All-Father doesn't," she murmurs, glancing upward as though he might be listening in. "But she did cross a line. Still, I can't help but feel that an act performed out of pain and loneliness cannot be redeemed by still more loneliness," she grimaces. "Compassion might have served her better."
*
"I felt nothing," Fandral tells the women and it's clear that's unusual, "And my gift allows me to feel what others are feeling and then enhance it. I had nothing to latch onto when she was here. She was not angry or sad at our intrusion. It was just hollow…nothing. That is not a normal state for anyone. Her old mentor did something. Worse than the torture you describe Scarlett…it's like she took the piece of Amora that felt things."
*
"I cannot speak for the All-father, only her own declarations to me when she acted the way we all know her. She spoke at some length now and then of her earlier years of study," Scarlett speaks slowly, and every word is painted with a clear unease about revealing even this much in closed company where likely no one is lurking under a log, in a bush or behind a tree to eavesdrop on them. Then again, maybe they are. "Curtly where her mentor was involved, but she lacks any love for that woman. Fear, resentment, and a burning grudge that lasted centuries. I shouldn't dare imply a lady's age." The rueful tip of her smile mingles to the dark mirth of her words, even as she gives Fandral an assessing look. His news strikes darts on her forehead when she frowns slightly.
"Can it be too late to show compassion to her somehow, Crystal? This sits poorly with me. Her decision was terribly timed and its consequences would have been awful, but what we've seen there is not the Amora we know. The law is the law, but the law isn't pitiless."
*
"Had it been my choice? I would have sent her to work two days a week for a year with the farmers in the fields, so she could see what she'd put to risk with her spell in a moment of pique," Crystal shakes her head to Scarlett, tying off the end of her braid. "She might have learned something then. She might not have as well, and she likely would have been just as happy to see me dead, but…feelings are natural. How is taking them away from her supposed to teach her how to properly deal with them?" she grumbles at Fandral's explanation.
*
"The All-Father has spoken. The punishment has been made, we can not go back and change that without inciting poor relations with another kingdom," Fandral tells both women, "I am sadden by Amora's change but I do not have the power to make any changes to her sentence. If anything, to interfere, might make her lot worse. At least now she feels no pain…but also no joy. I think it might be some lesson for a time. I can't imagine anyone leaving her in that state. It would be cruel." Of course Fandral doesn't know Amora's mentor or what she is capable of.
*
Scarlett raises her hands, shoulders rolled backwards. "And this is why I am what I am, not exalted to the high places of the world. For my reckoning upon the need for justice comes balanced too much on the personal consequences. No one has done wrong, but her injuries are deeper than they ought to be. I dislike it." Helplessness, or waiting patiently until opportunity shifts, is not her strong suit. All the same, she shakes off the subject. "I apologize for bringing that care down. Was she wroth with you in her way, Crystal, or discharging any debts and past grievances?"
*
"I dislike it as much as you do," Crystal sympathizes. "Truly. I told Thor as much after the whole…" She trails off, spinning a hand in the air as if that explains just what court was in her mind. "But no, she wasn't wroth with me at all. In fact, she said she came to let me know that I didn't need to worry that she would be a threat to me because she didn't care any more," she sighs. "And while I do appreciate the sentiment, the fact that it's utterly lacking in actual sentiment takes some of the relief out of it, really."
*
"If I knew what was done…" Fandral lets his voice trail off because such thoughts are dangerous because Amora's sentence was handed down by the All-Father, "But for now I don't it would be wise to interfere without more information." He looks to Crystal and tells her, "If Thor decides to take an interest in the matter…it might or might not help. He is favored but the All-Father does not like to be questioned. Perhaps Frigga…The Beloved has a kinder heart and might be as concerned as us if she were to see Amora in this state." He quirks a smile to Scarlett, "I would seek an ally in Loki. He is better at these maneuverings than I."
*
Mention of the queen brings a contemplative look over the redhead's face, mixed by something distinctly distant that softens the usually acute glitter of her fathomless green eyes. "I can see what may be done. If nothing else, I am best placed to accept whatever censure comes rather than any of you." Further clarification on why isn't something Scarlett wanders towards, instead toying with one of the wind-chapped blossoms in her hair, seating the stem deeper. "How have both of you been? Busy, I must imagine, now that matters proceed quickly. If there's aught I can do, let me know."
*
"Things are well," Crystal smiles faintly to Scarlett's question. "Busy, as you say. Although it was…" She glances to Fandral then as her smile deepens, amused. "We came upon a creature in Hell's Kitchen the other day. It was a chance to actually fight for a change, which was, well. Fun. Though I'm not sure how Thor feels about it. We haven't really had a chance to talk." Pausing, she flushes a bit. "Is it silly to think that- Is it foolish of me to wonder if he thinks less of me for it? For not just being…some perfect, polite princess?"
*
Fandral chuckles and tells Crystal, "He would be a foolish man if he did not appreciate you on the battlefield." It's not an answer but Fandral does not pretend to know Thor's mind, "But if you are concerned, you should ask him. It is better to face these things cleanly than to leave them fester." He glances at Scarlett and nods, giving her a look that says for the girl to be careful if she seeks to free Amora.
*
"Easy for you to say," Crystal laughs softly. "There's little enough weighing on it. You're right, though," she agrees. "I told him that if we were going to truly do this, if we were going to make more of it than just politics, then I needed to know that he knew who I was, not just that I could put on a nice show as a queen. I needed him to see all of me, and to know that he could…accept that. It sounded very intelligent at the time, you know," she smiles crookedly. "It's a bit more intimidating in practice."
*
Fandral lightly places a hand on her shoulder, "You will be fine." He gives her that vote of confidence, "And know that Thor will stumble too at time but he has a good heart. While at times he can be stubborn, let him calm and then seek him then." He lets her go and murmurs, "But you are probably perceptive enough to see this so I'm sure my advice is nothing new."
*
Crystal reaches up to set her hand over his, giving it a grateful squeeze before he pulls back. "Yes, well. It's nice to hear it from someone else and know that I'm not mad, at least." The flush has faded from her cheeks now, breath back to something more even after taking a break from her run. "I don't worry about him stumbling. He's lasted for thousands of years, he'll be fine. But I do worry about letting him down."
*
"You will not as long as you stay true to who you are and not change to make others happy," Fandral tells her softly with a fond look. "Perhaps in time you will find something to love…not just like." He's no fool, he knows that Crystal does not love his friend, but in some weird way still approves of her.
*
"There's a great deal to love," Crystal smiles, rueful. "That's what makes it difficult. If it were nothing but politics to either of us, if he were cold or cruel or shallow? Every part of this would be simple. But he's kind, sincere, brave. Caring. I…It's very confusing," she admits with a sigh. "I shouldn't want it to work. And yet I find myself hoping that it does." She pauses, squinting at him. "You're not doing that, are you?"
*
"No…I would never twist your heart in that way," Fandral tells her softly, shaking his head, "I could…nudge you, provide a suggestion that your heart might latch onto but if what you feel for the other man is true, it would not take. Because I can provide the…" He thinks of the Midgardian term, "Instinct but not change what is true." He quirks a smile, "He is a very lucky man, this one that holds your heart. Are you sure you can not be with him in truth? What you feel is strong. Thor is a good man…but good men only warm the heart so much."
*
"He…" Crystal takes a breath, looking in the direction of the school across town. "Our people are isolationist. And particular about genetics. I don't know if Thor told you, but Medusa even wants the Council to be able to test Thor's genetics, to determine if the match is acceptable. Even if he weren't, though, the benefits of an alliance with Asgard, the fact that our children would be of Asgard rather than Attilan, might outweigh it. But the other man is a mutant. A powerful one, with gifts of his own, true. Yet still, not Inhuman, and with little to bring to us aside from how he makes me feel. Which might be enough in some times, but Medusa questions her betrothal to Black Bolt, who has been…absent himself. We need stability. We need to inspire confidence in our people."
*
"Love and politics…they two do not often make good bedfellows. I will accept that you think it will not work and maybe it wouldn't in this world," Fandral tells her with a smile, "I once gave up everything, my most precious possession in the name of love and it ended badly, so I do not claim that love conquers all but when you do marry, I do ask that you be as faithful to Thor as he is to you." He's not claiming monogamy. That is not his aim, but a partnership, "Do not make your marriage one-sided or it will haunt you."
*
"On that, we agree," Crystal nods, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she looks back. "It might work with some, but not for him. And he…He doesn't deserve that. I would only make both of us miserable. Which is bad for the politics too, really. No. If I intend to pursue this, then I must give it every opportunity to be everything that it cane."