Title: Dance with Me
Summary: There are some downsides to keeping company with the most hated man in Asgard.
Characters: Sigyn, Loki
Note: This takes place after "Tea with Jane" and before "Simple is Boring"
Loki never realized it was possible to enjoy the company of another person as much as he enjoyed Sigyn's. Sure, he enjoyed Thor's company considerably. But this was completely different. It scared and excited him at the same time. The most amazing thing about the whole thing was that Sigyn seemed to enjoy his company, as well.
She started with inviting him over for a couple of meals. Then a few more and then a few more to the point when he was eating at her place several days a week. Then she started helping him with his studies, lending him books and teaching him spells that weren't in any of them. When he successfully cast a Gateway spell on a pair of mirrors, it was her idea to use them to connect their chambers. Loki preferred this as it meant he could visit Sigyn without fear of unwanted attention.
Loki was sure that she would soon grow tired of him. But she didn't show any signs of if and he certainly wasn't growing tired of her. So he decided to take Jane Foster's advice to heart and just enjoy Sigyn's company in the present rather than worry about what might happen in the future.
Everything was going along quite well, until she said those three little words.
"Let's go out."
"Out?" Loki repeated.
"Yes, to The Autumn Festival," Sigyn replied.
"Together?"
"Yes."
"In public?"
Sigyn laughed. "Is there a problem with that, Loki?"
"Besides the fact that you seem to have forgotten that I'm the most hated man in Asgard?"
"Oh," Sigyn said, as surprised look on her face. She really had forgotten? "I'm sorry, Loki. I didn't consider how dangerous it would be for you."
"I'm not concerned about myself. But keeping company with me will do you no favors."
Sigyn sighed.
"But you should go," Loki said. "With your friends. You may see me there. I always go to the festivals."
"Really?"
Loki nodded. "Nobody sees me, of course, unless I want them to."
Sigyn smiled. "And when you want them to?"
"It's usually pretty funny," Loki said with a laugh. "One time, I come across some drunk men saying some awfully vulgar things about Lady Sif. So I appeared right in the middle of them and said 'You really shouldn't say such things. Thor would skin you alive if Lady Sif didn't get to you first' and then disappeared."
Sigyn laughed. "Oh, I wish I could have seen that!"
"I was laughing so hard I could barely breath," Loki said. "Then they started chasing me because my invisibility spell failed."
"Oh, no!" Sigyn exclaimed, though she was still laughing. "What did you do?"
"I ran to find Thor. They sobered up very quickly when they saw him."
"Oh, dear! What a scamp you must have been as a child!"
"Actually, that was last year," Loki admitted.
That only made Sigyn laugh even more. Loki liked the sound of Sigyn's laugh. He liked that he could make her laugh.
After a bit, Sigyn's laughter died down. "Now, Loki, you really should try not to cause so much mischief at this festival this year."
"Yes, ma'am," Loki replied.
"But just in case you must," she continued, a playful smile on her lips. "Make sure to wait until I'm there."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Loki arrived early, just after everything had been setup so he could easily make a trip around the festival grounds without having to worry about the jostling crowd. Even if he was invisible, he was still solid. There were a few others milling about, but he easily avoided them. He visited the food merchants first, to get his favorite festival snacks (making sure to leave enough money in their tins) then he went over to the craftsmen.
He almost never bought anything but he liked browsing through the goods. He made his rounds and was about to head to his favorite tree when a reflection of light caught his eyes. It was a small jewelry smith's booth with very little merchandise, but all of the items were exquisitely made. Amongst the items was a delicate, golden hair clip in the shape of butterfly. It was inset with blue gems that reminded him of Sigyn's eyes.
Loki stared at the clip for a long while. He was about lean in to examine it further when somebody spoke.
"Looking for something for your lady, good sir?" It was the merchant, a thin, older gentleman with a friendly face.
It took Loki a few moments to realize he was the only one at booth and so the smiling merchant could not be talking to anybody but him. His spell had failed.
Damn.
It was something he was still working through. His spells would get interrupted if he was too distracted. He hadn't realized he had been studying the clip so intently.
"Any lady would be delighted to...ah!" The man finally looked at Loki's face and realized who he was addressing. "Lord Loki!" he exclaimed. To his benefit, he managed to keep a smile on his face, though it turned very nervous.
Loki sighed. Well, I might as well just get on with it.
"Um, this clip," he began, pointing at the butterfly.
"Take it!" the merchant said. "Take anything you'd like free of charge!"
"I just want the clip and I'd like to pay your for it," Loki replied, keeping his voice as calm as possible. He pulled out some coins. "Is this enough?"
"I could never charge such a...such a..." the merchant's voice trailed off. "Please don't hurt me," he said in a small voice.
Loki sighed again. "I'll just leave these right here." He picked up the clip and left the coins in its place. As he turned away from the merchant, he cast another invisibility spell. He heard the merchant give another cry as he disappeared.
That was depressing, he thought. But he couldn't help but smile a bit when he looked down at the hair clip in his hand. I hope Lady Sigyn likes it.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The large tree was perfect for observing the festival, which was now bustling. It was tall and on a small rise and the upper branches gave an excellent view of the festival grounds.
When he was up that far, he didn't have to bother with an invisibility spell. He probably didn't have to bother with a spell at all, but he still cast a camouflage spell. It didn't make him invisible but it did make him blend into the background so that people generally missed him when they look in his direction. It didn't work too well in daylight but in the shadows of the tree branches, together with his dark clothes, it made him practically invisible. A competent magic user would be able to see though it as would anybody who knew where to look and focused a bit, but it was just fine for this situation and took far less concentration.
He settled in, idly munching on the food he bought earlier and looking down at the merry people.
When he was younger, he tried to be a part of it. Thor accompanied him to make sure he stayed safe and Loki had enjoyed himself for a bit. But while his brother could stop any actions against him, he couldn't change the hearts of the people. Once Loki became aware of the hateful gazes that followed him, he found it impossible to truly ignore.
He decided to just stop going, but he couldn't ignore the sounds of the crowd and one evening he snuck down to the festivals grounds and climbed up into this tree. He found that he enjoyed watching the crowed from afar. It was like watching television at Miss Jane's, only more interesting. So every festival since found him sitting in the tree, nibbling on sweets, listening to the music and observing the crowd.
He looked for Sigyn and found her with a group of friends. She was chatting and laughing and looked to be thoroughly enjoying herself. Loki was happy for her, but at the same time he felt a strong sense of longing. For the first time in a long while, he wished he could be part of the crowed instead of just an outside observer.
Loki sighed and began searching for other familiar faces: His brother, Lady Sif and The Warriors Three. Thor and Sif were strolling around the grounds arm-in-arm. To find Fandral, he just looked for the largest gathering of maidens. Once he found Fandral, he knew he would find Volstagg and Hogun nearby.
Loki began just looking around the crowed again, but soon found himself looking for Lady Sigyn. He found her group of friends, but she wasn't with them. He was about to scan the area when a bit of movement near the tree caught his eyes.
Loki was a surprised to see Lady Sigyn approaching the tree. She stopped and looked up, straight at him, her eyes searching. Suddenly, she smiled. With a wave of her hand she disappeared and reappeared in the branch next to him. She quickly climbed over to sit next to him.
"How did you know I was here?" Loki asked.
"Your brother told me you liked to watch the festivals from this tree," Sigyn replied. "A lovely view! You can see the whole festival from here. Oh! There are my friends."
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Oh, very much. The Autumn Festival was always my favorite. What about you?"
I'm enjoying it a lot more now, Loki thought. But he said, "It's fun observing everybody."
"Well, then," she said. "Perhaps I should stay here a bit to do just that."
"Won't your friends miss you?"
A teasing smile appeared on Sigyn's face. "Are you trying to shoo me away?"
"Oh, no!" Loki said. "No...no..." He shook his head. His silver tongue had a habit of turning to lead when Sigyn was around. He found that thought amusing and could resist chuckling. "Thank you for finding me, Lady Sigyn."
Sigyn just smiled at him before turning back to the festival. "Everybody looks so happy. Like they don't have a care in the world."
"For one night, at least, maybe they don't."
"Are you happy, Loki?"
"Yes," Loki said without hesitation. Right now, in this moment, at least, he was completely happy.
"That's good," Sigyn said, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear.
That brought to mind the golden hair clip. He knew if he thought about it too much, he'd probably lose his nerve. So he pulled out the clip and handed it to her without a word.
Sigyn gasped in surprise. "It's beautiful!" she said as she took it. "Thank you, so much!"
"I'm glad you like it."
Sigyn clipped it into her hair. "How does it look?"
"Lovely," Loki replied.
They sat in comfortable silence for while, watching the crowd and listening to the music. After a while, the musician began playing a lively dance and Sigyn gave a little cry of delight.
"I love this one," she said. "Dance with me, Loki!"
"In the tree?"
Sigyn laugh. "Of course not!"
She took his hand in hers and made a motion with the other. The world shimmered momentarily around them and Loki realize she has just cast an invisibility spell. Another motion and they were on the ground, still in the shadows of the large tree.
"I don't know how to dance," Loki admitted.
"Then I'll teach you!" Sigyn replied.
She took his hands in her and began walking him through the steps. They started slowly at first, but Loki learned quickly and soon they were whirling and twirling beneath the tree. They continued dancing to the next dance and then the next and the next. Eventually they tumbled to the ground, exhausted but laughing.
"Oh, I haven't danced like that in so long," Sigyn said, stretching out on the grass.
"I don't think I ever have," Loki replied. "Thank you."
Sigyn rolled over on her side to face him and took his hand. "My thanks to you, as well."
She propped herself up on her elbow and began to lean forward only to pull back when the crowd gave a loud cheer.
"My father must be preparing to speak," Loki said sitting up.
Sigyn sighed. "I suppose I should go, then," she said, gracefully rising to her feet. "Thank you again, Loki. For the gift and for the dance." With a final wave, she disappeared back into the crowd.
Loki let out a slow breath. This was, without a doubt, his best festival ever.
Miss Jane had told him not to worry about what the future with Sigyn might bring and he had tried his best to follow it. But tonight, even if it was only temporary, he couldn't help but feel a bit of hope.