So, I was feeling fluffy and decided to write the following wedding scene. This is most likely not going to be included in my fanfiction series so, here it is. Enjoy and please review!
VEILED
Diamond Palace, Alfheim
Sif's footsteps could be heard throughout Loki's chambers despite her being on the other side of the door. Loki brushed off his boots, rising slowly and feeling the weight of his cape tug against the footstool as he did so. He stepped away from the vanity and stood before a full length mirror of pure crystal, eyeing his reflection for any bit of his dress out of place. His breastplate consisted of a dark green base and gold design emphasizing his chest and arms, his trousers the same green hue with a thin, black stripe running down the sides and crisscrossed with gold that was halted by pitch black boots with a gold band running beneath the arch to give sound when he walked, (something the Asgardian court had insisted upon when he was a child because of his stealth). His cape, the crowning achievement of the current form of dress was a deep emerald that brought out the color in his eyes which, when framed by his long, slicked back black hair and pale features shone beautifully.
Loki stood before the mirror for nearly an hour, emerald eyes searching absolutely everything. There couldn't be a millimeter of lingering polish nor dulled gold. Not today. Not when he wore this outfit for the first time since the veil of his life was torn away. This day needed to be perfect. Loki stood straight in this dress, he had no choice, really. As a young man, he never really liked dressing up. Now, he savored the occasions when he could show off such attire.
Sif banged on the door, her bracers clicking against the wood annoyingly. "Loki, I must speak with you!"
His eyes flicked to his helmet, the final piece of his dress that would make him appear two feet taller and a royal prince of the Asgardian Monarchy. The green helmet enveloped nearly all of his skull and dipped over his forehead to give him a mischievous look despite his inward intentions. Atop the helmet were two, backward arching horns that defined him in the past years. His brother made fun of him constantly over the appearance of his dress, but Loki saw the future when all Thor could see was the ale between his fingers. He knew he would come to be known by what impression he gave when he walked in the room.
This impression needed to be perfect. Flawless.
Sif thundered again, prompting Loki to take up his helmet, feeling it hum beneath his fingers like a cat in the arms of its master. "Loki! What are you planning?"
He turned to the door, raising his free hand and shooting magic toward the door to open it, revealing the beautiful warrior maiden dressed in dulled silver armor and bracers, a red skirt encircling her hips and shading black trousers and brown leather boots. She dropped her hand, her black hair making her face seem more upset than usual. "Loki, why are you dressed like that?"
He frowned. "Why are you dressed like that? Did I not instruct the servants to inform you of the occasion? Did the gown not fit?"
She glared at him. "What are you planning, Loki?"
He knew what she meant, but toying with her was so much more fun. "I plan on going to the main terrace. What do you plan to do? Go to battle?"
"I will if you are plotting an escape."
"How can I escape in dress as this?" He stepped toward her, readjusting his helmet. "Are you honestly going to join us dressed as you are?" He walked past her.
She turned her heel and followed after him. "You are not answering any of my questions! Why is the castle so busy? Why should I have to wear such a gown as the one you had placed in my room?"
"You don't like it?"
"It is one befitting a banquet! Is that what you're trying to concoct? A banquet so that you can run off?"
"Why would I run off when we are in my estate?"
She grabbed his elbow and wrenched him back, withdrawing her sword. "Tell me, this instant, what you are arranging!"
He smirked. "It is a banquet, but you fair Sif, are our only guest. Don't fret about what I plan to do. I vow on my love for my bride that I will not leave this estate for two nights."
She leaned back, her eyes sweeping his frame as though searching for the truth. He smiled and turned away continuing down the hallway, he had never been this honest with her. He turned and found himself in the Great Hall, overlooking the Grand Staircase and the main balcony. From everywhere, servants were hanging flowers and bolts of silk, the smells of delicious foods wafting into his nostrils from the kitchen.
His butler, Bjorn, hurried to his side, patting his wet forehead with a silk handkerchief. "My lord, everything is nearly ready."
Loki nodded, pride swelling in his chest. Everything was coming together according to how he had always dreamed it would be. "How long, now?"
"An hour at most, my lord. Word from Lady Sigyn's chambers is that she too, is almost ready."
He smiled, unable to tame his emotion. "I will be in her wing. Fetch me when everything is prepared."
Loki paused to let a group of women replacing a flower display pass by before proceeding. Of all the chaos happening on the main floor, Sigyn's wing was rather calm with most of the fluttering coming from a large birdcage with an exotic Aicon bird with feathers that glittered in the sunlight. He stopped before her door, raising his hand to knock, but hesitated. He could hear her maids bustling back and forth, undoubtedly doing everything in their talents to make her look absolutely ravishing.
Gently, helmet taking much of his ability for stealth, Loki opened the door and popped his head in. A great partition painted with the beautiful Alfheimian sunset over a beach divided her from being viewed by any male servant. Tradition was to be strictly observed today, and he nor any man could gaze upon her. She laughed suddenly, a sound that pulled his body into the room, cape and all, and close the door, extreme practice keeping his boots from making sound. She laughed again as a kitten shot out from around the partition wearing a large bow around its neck. Loki couldn't contain the smile for the small spotted fluff tumbling about the carpet trying to take the ribbon off with its paws. As much as he wanted to touch the kitten, he refrained. Sigyn would see the fur and fear that he spied on her before she was ready.
Loki pressed his head back against the door, watching the indistinct silhouettes move back and forth preparing his love. He saw her dress as the sewing maidens were making it, but it was fragmented and offered only a glimpse of what beauty it would give off when wrapped around her body. Her hair, he let the hair maidens decide what to do with that. His eyes travelled down to the helmet he held, then smiled. He had had her fitted for a crown as unique as his. She would be known for a distinct look as much as he was with his horned helmet. There was to be no ignorance of who she was from this point onward. She was his bride, the love of his life, and in an hour would bear his name: Sigyn Odinson, Princess of Asgard.
Perfume was applied to her body, the scent tickling him like her hair when she laid on her side and let her mane fall onto his chest. The tinkling of jewelry could be heard soon after the perfume, the only jewels capable of being worn under her elaborate dress being cuff bracelets from Frigga's jewelry chest. From behind the partition, all fell silent and six of her handmaidens stepped back, various instruments in her hands. Loki flinched a fraction forward, but hesitated as a collective gasp was issued from the handmaidens, smiles on their faces.
Sigyn had stood and had stolen the breath from all who gazed upon her.
It took everything that Loki had within him to open the door and slip out, nearly catching his cape in the doorframe. His chest heaved and his thoughts scattered. This was it. The moment was about to come: the moment when he would be united with the love of his life, his wife. His Sigyn.
A throat cleared next to him and he turned to see Bjorn in his finest attire. "My lord, we await word from Lady Sigyn's Matron. All is ready below."
Butterflies threatened to choke him, but Loki nodded. "And, our guest?"
"She has just arrived in the Great Hall in the gown you chose for her."
"Alright, then. On my word we shall begin." Loki glided down the corridor away from Sigyn's wing to the Master's Wing, a place he had rearranged for the two of them. Before entering, Loki slid on his helmet, feeling the gravitas of the task he had to do. He inhaled once then, holding his breath, he knocked three times on the great wooden doors.
Without a word, the doors opened, revealing his emerald sashed guards standing on either side of a massive parlor. Loki stepped in using his most ceremonious gait, making sure each heel was touched by a boot-tip before kicking the tip forward. The guards bowed at the waist, their eyes averted from the great mahogany chest in the center. Loki stopped before the chest and spread wide his hands, smelling the wonderful earth from which the chest was hoisted from. With a slight bend of his waist, he stooped over the chest and lifted the aged lid, the hinges creaking with its rise. Nestled inside on what was once a lovely pillow, was a long, beautiful sword that was to serve as part of the wedding ceremony when both Loki and Thor married.
Bor's sword.
The one that had lain waste to countless opponents. The one that was entrusted to Frigga when she married Odin to watch over for her sons' use. Since Loki paled beyond a corpse at the thought of such a dirty sword touching his fine armor (Thor wouldn't have cared), he spent the night polishing and cleaning it, making sure it was ready for the Removing Ceremony.
With fingers of absolute delicacy and reverence, Loki removed the sword from the chest, a fine and fairly new belt dangling from the sheath. He smiled. It's time. The black belt was fastened around his waist, the silver sword clicking with the sides of his trousers and he turned, heading out of the chamber to the Great Hall and flanked by his two guards.
The Great Hall was elegant in the sunlight! Peach and white roses were clustered together in tall gold vases, the white silk drapes streaked with woven gold cords fashioned to look like ivy, and the marble floor gleamed with coral marble and his gold seal of the House of Odinson, capable of changing form the moment Loki took a wife or had children. Off to the side of one of the tables, Lady Sif stood in a flowing white gown with gold bracers, her ebony hair pulled back into a hair piece of delicate gold and diamonds. From a deep corner within him, the young man Loki once was swooned at the sight of her. "You look ravishing."
She glared at him. "You're getting married, aren't you?"
He couldn't hide it any longer, his smile betrayed him. "Yes, I am."
"Is there anything I can do about it?"
He stepped onto the Hall floor. "Um, no."
She sighed a thousand years of defeat. "Loki, your father will not agree to you marrying a mortal."
"She won't be after today."
"To eat of the Apples of Idunna is to ask for trouble beyond comprehension."
"I'm still a prince, Sif." He stepped closer to her, "I can order someone to be permitted to eat one of the apples if I want to."
"Odin, Thor will not be pleased."
He smirked, determined not to let his anger flare. "That, fair Sif, is why I only invited you to my wedding. After all, I did promise at one time to have you in a gown of white at my wedding ceremony."
She couldn't deny her smile and shook her head as he stopped before her. "I was so young, then." She looked at him, "If I could have seen then the life I live now, I wouldn't have believed it."
Loki nodded, "I know what you mean. I never thought I would fall in love again."
Sif scowled. "I'm so sorry I misguided you. I missed my fiancé so much that I didn't realize your intentions."
"Old books deserve dust, Sif. They have nothing new to say so, don't guilt your mind with what could have been. You are my guest today."
She smiled. "Well, if I'm going to be punished for not watching over you, then I might as well enjoy it."
Loki walked with her about the Great Hall, grinning. "You are watching over me, Sif. You make sure I cannot leave the palace without supervision and away from mischief. You are a guest at my wedding, therefore you are watching me, and I am away from mischief because I am getting married. Not something a naughty child would think about, would they?"
"Your words can twist iron, Loki. Such an annoying trait."
"Well, I couldn't get you to marry me, so no. I cannot do the impossible."
"But you found a woman who was willing to love you when you weren't so loveable. That is a rather remarkable feat."
He looked away and smiled. "Sigyn found me, not I to her, Sif. Her love is like water, able to move mountains and corrode iron, filling where things were thought to be broken." He inhaled, calling to mind the scent of her perfume. "She gave me her love, hoping for something in return. This, is the greatest I can give her." He faced her, "A home where she is loved for being herself."
Sif looked over her shoulder, seeing Bjorn and a priest enter and head to the balcony. Loki followed her gaze and immediately felt his heart hurtle almost painfully against his breastbone. It's time. He turned back to Sif, forcing her to look back at him. "Are you beginning to feel bored, guest? Shall I escort you to your place?"
She looked at him. "I think I know where to stand, Loki. This is not my first wedding."
He chuckled. "Alright, then."
They walked shoulder to shoulder to the light of the balcony, their steps equal in stride. Though Loki stood three feet taller than Sif with his great helmet, there was little separating them. Sif, despite her fear of being punished for Loki's behavior, showed only confidence in her stature. She was unwavering in all that touched her, something Loki taught her to do when she was his student.
Loki stood tall beside her, despite his inward villain screaming at him to run, abandon ship, stop being a weak little fool. How could he take a wife, he so unlovable, so vile that in turn was incapable of finding a suitable companion? What was wrong with her? Was she using him? Was she going to take his weakness for granted and shatter what was left of his heart? He stood before Bjorn, his butler facing him and waiting attentively for the command of his master.
Last chance to run, take it!
Shut up.
Don't be silly, little brat. No one can love you, remember? Frigga was the last.
You are unworthy of speaking her name!
You are unworthy of a companion as delicate as she is.
Let us see her and find out.
Good! See her beauty and look at yourself you no good wretch! Go ahead! Call for her.
Its time.
Its time.
"Its time."
Bjorn bowed deeply before him. "I shall summon her, my lord."
Loki watched him go, battling himself as they waited. How could he dare to love again? He swore his love to Sif long ago, he should have stayed wounded to keep her close.
No. Its no use to love someone who could have no more feeling for you than a teaspoon can.
Its safer to love what cannot love you back than what will not.
The doors above the Great Hall opened, the sound echoing throughout the decorated space. Bjorn's shuffling could be heard in a rush to come back down to permit tradition to take place as no man could be anywhere near the bride in her grand entrance.
Loki's eyes darted everywhere, a final sweep to make sure that there was either something out of place or an escape he could make. The marching of the maidens hummed overhead as they escorted their mistress out to the wedding space. From everywhere, servants floated forward with the progress of the bride and maidens around the corridors, peering with smiling faces to their master.
Run! You cannot do this! She cannot love you! Go!
The glint of silver armor caught Loki's eye. Sif leaned to the left and gasped, a smile touching her lips. Loki wet his lips, "H-how does she look?"
She turned back to him, her smile lightening her face. "Come and see."
Don't you dare break with tradition!
Loki took a step forward, making Bjorn and the priest flinch. Of all the brides I've seen, there is only one that I want more than anyone. Mine.
A procession of nine armed shield maidens, two guards in front, three each flanking either side of an unseen person, and one at the rear moved forward, their steps uniform and placed with meaning. All at once the procession halted before the Grand Staircase, the six shield maidens moving forward to stop at every other step, each turning to look at the maiden across from her. Then, in a move so fluid it was almost dreamlike, the two front shield maidens separated to reveal their mistress.
At once, Loki's thoughts obliterated and his jaw fell open. There she was! Sigyn, his beautiful Sigyn! Oh how his dreams failed him! She was more exquisite than anything he had ever seen! Her gown was form fitting and flared behind her at the bottom like a mermaid's tail. Her sleeves arched over her shoulders and fell to the floor as a part of her train, her arms sliding out from under them and clasping at her navel, Frigga's bracelets encircling her wrists. Her gown was connected to a collar of emeralds by a pendant emerald shield, gaps leaving enough skin to give hints of enticing curves, the collar meticulously spaced to give the appearance of stained glass. Sigyn's lovely face smiled back at him, cosmetics beautifully applied so that her blue eyes danced as she looked at him. To finish her wardrobe, her hair was held back by a crown of gold that framed her face and flared outward palm width on either side, completing her illusion of a maiden of the sea.
Loki sputtered, his lungs suddenly reminding him that he needed breath to continue living. He inhaled and exhaled quickly, eyes not wanting to leave his bride. "Now, it is a wedding." Sif chuckled, "When the bridegroom flushes at the sight of his bride and cannot find breath, then that is a sign that they are meant to be together."
The two shield maidens stepped down the Grand Staircase in time with Sigyn should she fall, each gripping their shield and spear in case also if a man should try and steal her. They touched the marble floor, Sigyn's eyes flitting about to gaze upon her wedding space and awe-struck servants.
Loki couldn't take it anymore. He stepped away from the Main Balcony, cape flaring about him, and strode to her, eyes never wavering from her face. I need to know. The Shield Maidens tensed, but permitted him entry to their mistress, Sigyn's chest sputtering slightly at the sight of him in all his grandeur. Loki slowed to a stop before her, noticing that the Shield Maiden at the rear carried a sword of the finest quality for her to present to him. For moments, all he could do was breathe before her, taking in every inch of fabric that hugged her small frame.
"You look beautiful."
She smiled and reached out to take his hands. "So do you."
He swallowed, preparing himself for anything. "Are you certain you wish to do this? Are you certain that this is what you want?"
She nodded, her smile fading under gravity. "I want you, Loki. I always have. You can't frighten me off, alskling. I love you too much to leave now. I'll just come back when your temper has subsided."
Tears sprang to his eyes, one even sliding down his cheek. "You. Want. Me?"
Her smile returned and she leaned forward, kissing him. "Yes."
He wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to his chest and dodging her crown to nestle against her neck. She loves me!
What's wrong with her?
I don't know, but I have eternity to find out!
You aren't immortal.
I am today!
"My makeup is going to ruin!"
He faced her, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Mine's already gone."
She laughed, her tears flowing but her cosmetics not disturbed thanks to a spell cast by one of the maidens.
Loki caressed what bit of her cheeks weren't blocked by her crown and kissed her, savoring her touch as though this was the last time he was going to feel her beneath his fingertips. From behind, he heard Sif make an obvious cough. Reluctantly, Loki pulled away, laughing as Sigyn leaned forward as though she were dehydrated and forced away from a cool drink. "It's time, alskling."
She nodded, her smile widening to an almost painful stretch as he moved to stand beside her, shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm.
Then, as one, they moved toward the Main Balcony.
From Sif's perspective, the wind caught Loki's cape making it billow out behind him in a way that she had thought only looked handsome on Thor. When they stepped into the sunlight from the shade of the interior, the sun glinted off their clothes making her think that if she was still an ordinary girl from a farming village, she would believe them to be a god and a valkyrie.
The priest inhaled and smiled as though their breaks in tradition was something to be copied and embraced by each couple he married. "Who comes to be married?" He asked, eyes flicking to Loki.
He cleared his throat. "The lady Sigyn and myself, Prince Loki of Asgard."
The priest nodded. "Have you a sword of your forefathers to be given for this claim?"
Loki stepped away from Sigyn and withdrew slowly Bor's sword. Sigyn's eyes grew wide with the sight of the runes engraved along the face. He could tell her inner archaeologist was excited. He held it up then turned to the priest.
The Priest smiled and turned to Sigyn. "Lady Sigyn, this sword is given to you to care for for your son's use. Let a new sword be brought forth!"
The Shield Maiden at the rear stepped forward, a pretty, glinting sword placed across both her palms that would likely be the one to rest across Loki's chest when he made his final boat ride. Delicately, Sigyn took the hilt of this new sword, her fingers touching gold and obsidian, and lifted it. "This sword is given as a symbol to you, Prince Loki. The protection moves from her father unto you as her husband." Simultaneously, Bor's and Loki's swords were handed off to the other and the Priest turned to Loki, "Prince Loki, your ring to Lady Sigyn."
Loki lifted his free hand and produced from the center a ring of gold inlaid with emeralds. "Source of my power," He breathed, sliding it onto the blade of her sword, "Given to the source of my love." He felt a jolt of fear when he saw the sword shiver with the power emitted from the ring slide down the steel to the hilt, but Sigyn said nothing. Perhaps she thought he had conjured it and was giving off remaining magic.
"Lady Sigyn, your ring to Prince Loki."
Again, the Shield Maiden stepped forward and handed her a ring of solid gold, an etching of runes on the inside. She inhaled, "The inside is simple. It reads, 'I am yours just as you are mine." A tear slid down her cheek as she lifted it and placed it onto the blade of his sword.
"Prince Loki, do you take this woman as your wife in marriage?"
Everything within him wanted to kiss her wet lips, to pull her close and make her forget her tears. He instead smiled, boring into her eyes and meaning every syllable of the words, "I do."
"Lady Sigyn, do you take this man as your husband in marriage?"
She blinked forth several more tears, remembering past loves who hurt and destroyed her beautiful heart and grinned at the one who made her at once forget them. She nodded, "I do." Her words were soft, her look tender, and her smile warm. Loki knew that she meant her words more than anything she had previously promised.
"You may both put on your rings."
They reached up and took their new rings from their swords, sliding them on as best they could with one hand. Loki looked up and laughed as Sigyn nearly dropped hers in her excitement to don her ring. Reaching over, he took the circlet of gold and emeralds and slid it onto her finger, making her giggle. Their free hands, freshly adorned in gold, clasped tightly, each person shaking with excitement.
"United in matrimony, divided by death, I proudly proclaim Prince Loki and Princess Sigyn Odinson, married!"
The servants let out an uproar certainly heard by all nine realms while Lady Sif clapped modestly. Sigyn laughed and Loki grinned, watching his servants celebrate his union. Bjorn stepped forward carrying a gold silk pillow to take the swords as they couldn't touch the ground for the entire day. Once the swords were placed to be displayed in the Great Hall atop the silk, Loki pulled Sigyn into his arms and swooped in to meet her lips with his.
Silence echoed throughout the palace when his bride touched his armor. Her lips tasted salty from tears, but he wasn't thinking for long. His thoughts obliterated and he pulled her close, adjusting his mouth over and over again against hers, ignoring all what was proper for a newlywed couple before their guests for an instant. Loki could have sworn that the guests cheered loudest when they kissed, but he couldn't be entirely sure. He began to pull away, but her hand came swiftly and caught the back of his neck, keeping him against her for moments longer.
Well, who was he to deny his wife her wishes?
He pulled her waist closer, leaning her back slightly so he could tower over her, and cradled her neck under the weight of her crown. She curled her fingers into his armor to keep her from fainting, but knew that she was absolutely useless in such an embrace. Their lips moved in concert, each savoring the feel of the other as though they had never touched before. Loki was married, now. He could touch Sigyn and kiss her whenever he wanted and she permitted herself be touched and kissed by him, returning such passion with sweet, tender kisses that never threatened to hurt him like past loves did. He was safe in her arms, capable of releasing his full love because she was there to receive it. And he was there to gather all that she gave to him. There had always been a lingering question in Loki's mind whenever Frigga dragged him to a wedding of nobles if there would ever be a woman willing to accept him for all of his flaws and transgressions. If anyone, in all the realms and cosmos, would be patient in his foul tempers and loving in his moments of despair. The answer was clear now: yes.
Slowly, their lips parted and he pressed his helmet forehead to hers, catching his breath in her embrace. "I love you."
She smiled, her eyes floating to him. "I know. I love you, too."
"Come," He breathed, "Dance with me."
They turned to the guests, hearing for the first time lutes, flutes, and bells resound followed by the heart stopping drums thudding like a stampede of dancing horses. Around them, the Shield Maidens set down their weapons and shields and clapped their hands above their heads in tune with the drums, dancing as ale was poured and passed around.
Loki reached up and slid off his helmet, setting it down on a side table, feeling a chill as his scalp had begun to sweat beneath that weight. Sigyn followed suit, shaking out her ringed blonde mane from her flared crown and setting it down next to Loki's. He looked to her in her splendid sea maiden attire. "Can you dance in such a gown?"
She cocked her eyebrow and smirked, her entire wardrobe illuminated in a gold ring that started from her head and moved downward, changing the style of her gown from trailing elegance to form fitting white bodice tied around her neck by four ivory plates overlapping each other and trimmed in gold. Her skirt was light and swept the floor, small patterns of glitter dotting the entire outfit so that together, she and Loki looked like the moon in the night sky.
Hand in hand, Loki and Sigyn danced among the servants, Lady Sif watching from afar. If she had permitted herself to fall in love with him, she and Loki would have been married in a similar ceremony here on Alfheim, perhaps even when her parents were still alive. She took a cup of ale and walked away to the path that led down to the beach. Loki had promised her seclusion from court politics if they were married, and predicted that if she maintained her romantic ideals for Thor, she would be single for quite some time. She drank the contents of the cup and tossed it aside, stepping onto the warm sand. "Have I lost my opportunity for happiness?" She stared at the glittering sea, the music fading behind her. "He promised me children, and a home if I called him my lover, and a good friend along with husband. Thor is away with Lady Jane and does not consider me to be anything more than a shield maiden." She stopped and turned back to the party, seeing clearly the finale of a song and Loki seize the waist of his bride and kiss her, bending her back so that her hair nearly touched the tiles. "I missed the opportunity of my lifetime when I denied the second for the first."
Loki righted his wife, their hearts beating in concert to a new song, kissing her temple as the guests applauded them. Another song began and the guests turned to each other to get new partners for this dance. Slipping his fingers into hers, Loki pulled her away from the celebratory chaos to the quiet of the welcoming pools in the chamber down the hall, watching the bass of the drums make ripples in the pools despite the closed wooden doors. Sigyn drew close to her husband and kissed him, both of them savoring the dulled music and solitude. Loki looked into her shimmering blue eyes and smiled, stroking her chin. "Min vakre kone, my beautiful wife."
A tear escaped her eye. The moment it caught the light, Loki knew she was remembering sweet moments of the past before they had met. "Are you sure you want me, my love?" Her eyes could not bear the weight of looking up at him.
Loki kissed her forehead and pulled her close so that she rested on his chest. "You have been neglected, pushed aside, and deemed unimportant by so many. What fools they have been!" She looked up at him and he continued, "I shall never make you feel any less of a queen that you truly are. Alskling, I vow to you that anyone who has caused tears to fall from your gorgeous eyes, I will make you forget them from this moment on."
She smiled, her eyes shimmering. Suddenly, she looked down to her hands, finding them shaking beneath his palms. "I dressed as the siren for our wedding, yet it seems that your words and your touch are my siren's song!" She looked up and kissed him, "Not to give you too much power my darling, but your voice holds a power over me that renders your touch irresistible."
He grinned. "It is good to have some power back. When you walked into the Great Hall for the ceremony, I was knocked clean of breath." She laughed, "It's true! Ask Lady Sif! Tell me, alskling, who taught you to leave a god powerless?"
She giggled. "That, is a talent that I am not likely to disclose so easily, even for one so tempting as you, husband."
"I'll get it from you, one way or another."
She tilted her head back and laughed a full, breathy, laugh. "I look forward to it."
A pair of servants, each kissing the other worse than the newlyweds, stumbled into the room, arresting Loki and Sigyn's amused attention. Had Loki not cleared his throat, he was certain that they would have continued in their intimacy, oblivious to their audience. They gave a short bow and scurried out one of the servant's entrances to the gardens. Sigyn was the first to break the awkward silence with her giggles, followed by Loki's. "Do we look so foolish when we kiss?"
"Of course not! We are sophisticated royals that exude elegance in all that we do!"
They laughed louder at that prospect.
"Come!" Sigyn laughed, pulling him back to the Great Hall, "There is still much more dancing to be done!"
Arm in arm, Loki and Sigyn glided back into the throng of dancing and celebrating, the servants withholding their knowledge of them disappearing. Always, Sigyn was pulling her new husband onto the dance floor and Loki was carrying her off to their thrones to give rest to his aching limbs. Until dusk they celebrated, toasting and laughing their union, kissing whenever they felt like it for however long they wanted. For a day, they did not care who or what would condemn them tomorrow for their unpermitted union. Today, they were an ordinary couple celebrating their marriage. The moment the sun faded beyond the ocean, Loki scooped Sigyn up in his arms and, followed by those sober enough to follow them to the Master Chamber, carried her up the stairs to the gilded doors of Sigyn's former sole residence. For the zenith time that night, they smiled until their cheeks hurt the entire distance to the biggest room in the palace until finally they reached their destination, the guards outside snapping to attention as much as they could with the celebration.
Loki paused outside of the wooden doors bound by polished bronze Celtic weave designs and looked to his wife. "Ready?"
She kissed him gently, looking into him like when she made her vows. "Yes."
He waved his hand over the door and it opened, revealing a space littered by blooms of mint green roses and candles in bronze bowls. A hush fell over the crowd and breaths seemed to be held as Loki took three steps over the threshold of the Master Chamber with his bride. He could not drop her, nor could he stumble himself. Tradition dictated that this walk, like the Removal Ceremony, be perfect. Likewise walking, Sigyn had to stand perfectly in her new home when she was set down. She could not double over due to cramps from the walk and dancing, and he could not drop her with exhausted arms. As gently as possible, Loki bent slightly at the knees and let her slide from his forearm, the other arm securing her back to guide her upright while he himself stood, removing his hands for her to regain her balance.
Sigyn stood with her hands away from her body, palms out. The moment she knew she was secure, she turned to her husband and smiled. The servants cheered and clapped, the guards closing the heavy doors so the rest of the guests could return to the party. Loki exhaled, Sigyn laughing and pulling him into her arms. "Merriment is often exhausting, is it not?"
"It is, but not with you in my arms." He kissed her, massaging her scalp.
She pulled away, her face wrinkling with worry. "What is going to happen to us after today? I know I'm you wife but-"
"But nothing." She looked at him, her face smoothing. Loki placed his thumbs on either of her temples and spoke with as much feeling as possible, "I will not travel back to Asgard without you, no matter what my brother or Odin commands. You are Princess Sigyn Odinson, married legally before witnesses. If Thor and Odin cannot accept my longing for a bride, then they cannot accept me for whom I really am. Sigyn, after tomorrow, our marriage will be consummated and irreversible. That, alskling, is all that matters at this moment. Not tomorrow or the next day, just us now."
He kissed her, succumbing to the heat stroke he felt each time they touched, thinking "All that matters is you, here in my arms, now."
THE END
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