Two days had passed since the moment she announced her decision. She was packing some of her more precious belongings for her time at the castle. Her luggage included her favorite books and the necklace her mother gave her when she was only a baby. It was a gold crescent moon and, attached to it, there was a dark-blue round gem. She put it around her neck and got out of her room with her case. Just as she finished loading the satchels on her horse, the royal guards arrived at the cottage. Lune jumped on her snow white mare and followed them through the woods. As she was escorted to the golden palace, she asked them if she could see her father alone for a moment. And so, they took a quick detour to the Bifrost. She let her horse at the entrance and entered quietly.

-Father? She started. I'm going to the castle...

-Really? He asked with a hint of happiness. He turned around to look at her. I'm proud of you, Lune. You're going to be a perfect wife and queen, I can feel it.

He walked down the stairs and pulled her in a hug, kissing her forehead lightly. She felt safe in his arms, but she had to go. She said goodbye and turned around to go back to the guards.

Lune really enjoyed horse-riding. The feeling of her loose hair in the wind, the harmony between her and her mount, the layers of her flowy dress along the sides. It was like living in a dream. When she rides, time seems to stop and the world around vanishes. As they approached the citadel, her heart began to beat faster. The time had come for her to step up to the world's expectations and to make her father proud. While she proceeded at a steady pace towards the castle, she saw a woman waiting for them at the Grand Entrance. The girl recognised the queen and smiled to herself. Frigga was a very sweet woman that she liked very much. However, such things could not be said about her husband, who was usually distant and rather cold, but everyone was sure that under his bitter appearance, he was a warm person and father.

When Lune and the guards reached the bottom of the stairs, she let them take her mare to the stables, knowing that they would probably proceed to drop off her things in her new apartments next. She walked up the steps confidently, head up and smiling with all her teeths.

When she reached the top, she bowed down before the queen, who chuckled and said, helping the girl up on her feet:

- No need to bow down to me dear!

- My apologies, your Majesty, Lune responded, head down and embarrassed.

-You can call me Frigga. You will soon be part of the family, so you might as well get used to it.Come with me, I will show you your chambers. It's okay, you can both go back to your post, she said to the guards.

-My chambers? You don't need to... A maid could lead me there, if you don't want to...

-Tomorrow, you'll meet my sons. You need rest and to clear your mind. The princes are really excited to learn to know you better.

As she spoke, the queen was leading Lune to her luxurious apartments. The young woman quickly realized that she was in the royal wing. They stopped at her door and Frigga greeted her before leaving. A door opened at the other end of the corridor and steps drew closer. It was Loki, the younger prince of Asgard and he was coming her way. He stopped two meters from her and stayed silent. She turned around to enter her chambers when she heard his voice.

-I am happy that you decided to give us a chance, Lune.

He smiled at her and walked away. She stared at the place where he was in shock. Prince Loki was happy that she gave them a chance. She wasn't even a princess...

...

This evening, at dinner, Lune ate in her room, with, to her personal demand, a few servants to keep her company. She had to, as she was only supposed to officially meet the princes the next day. She enjoyed the meal, but she stayed silent most of the time, absently listening to the ongoing conversation about some problems with the disappearing alcohol in the caves or the wasted amounts of fabrics that came in with too many holes to count. When she was asked a few questions about herself or if she liked the castle, she merely answered with a few polite words, too shy to add more than she thought necessary. At the end of the day, the maids left for the night and she took this opportunity to take her time and walk around the giant hallways, before going back to her room. After a few hours however, she turned out to be unable to sleep, no matter how hard she tried.

Lune quietly got out of bed and decided to take a midnight stroll in the gardens. When she arrived, she had the pleasant surprise to find only the silence filled the place. The blooming season was around the corner, but the bushes were already very furnished with beautiful flowers of all colors imaginable. Their strong scent embalmed the spot with a myriad of fragrances, and, combined with the sweet and warm light from the surrounding lanterns, the atmosphere was magical. As she walked over to the balustrade and leaned over, a small wind blow washed over the area. It wasn't very cold, but it was certainly quite refreshing.

She took this moment alone to think yet again about her decision. She knew she had done the right thing, but she was still very stressed about the time delay. Five months seemed like a long time, but what if it would turn out to not be quite enough for her? She looked up at the sky, where millions of stars shone, as bright as diamonds. When she was just a little girl, her father taught her that, because the light of the stars took some time to get to our eyes, that meant that one of them could die, but it would take a considerable period of time for us to realise it. All this leads to the conclusion that, when you look up at the stars, you look in the past. Her mother is now one of these diamonds and was named after them too, as ironic as it might seem.

Intertwined with all of those thoughts, she remembered what Loki had told her earlier. "I am happy that you decided to give us a chance." She didn't know how to take this. What was it supposed to mean?

Suddenly, Lune heard a branch crack behind her, pulling her out from her thinking. However, when she turned around to look, she saw nobody. After looking around for a couple of minutes, she decided to go back inside as she was getting a little cold. She returned quietly but quickly to her apartments and slept peacefully the rest of the night.