Always
Ch. 1
8 years old
"Come here!" I chased after the violet butterfly as it teased me. It would come close enough for me to almost reach it, and then it would flutter away. I was giggling as the grass rustled against my bare legs. I was wearing a light pink dress that my mother had picked out for me. My light blonde hair was in a ponytail, my brown eyes lit up with excitement.
I was in the garden outside of King Odin's palace. My mother was a friend of the his and had been invited to stay because of my father's death. Kind Odin was a kind old man with a golden eye patch covering one of his eyes. He had two young sons, Loki and Thor, whom I still hadn't met. Then again, I'd only just arrived this morning.
The butterfly, finally bored, flew away from me. I sighed, and looked around at all the flowers. There were roses and daffodils, tulips and carnations, violets and sunflowers and much more that I'd never be able to identify. I walked towards them and inhaled deeply, enjoying the flowery sweetness. Bored, I sat down wishing I had a book to read. I sighed again. A rustling of the bushes made me look around, alert. Had the butterfly come back? I heard laughter and instantly knew the butterfly had not come back.
"Maybe now you won't make fun of my feather, cow!" I heard a boy's voice shout playfully.
"I was simply admiring your helmet, not making fun. Any offense you took simply came from the insecurities you have regarding the feather." Another boy responded.
"Insecurities? Me? Come here!" I heard more laughing and grunting. Before I knew it, the two boys had rolled in the open area I was in.
I gasped and jumped up, startled. Immediately, they stopped rolling around and stood up, brushing themselves off. They were both the same height as me, but one was a little bigger. The bigger one had sandy blonde hair and light eyes. He was grinning at me, unashamed by his behavior. The thinner boy had black hair and green eyes. He looked a little bit embarrassed.
"Who're you?" The blonde boy asked.
"Who're you?" I fired back.
"I am Thor, son of Odin and this is my brother, Loki." The same boy responded.
I smiled, at least this was less awkward than meeting them with both of our parents present. "I am Sigyn, daughter of Freya."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sigyn. Father has told us about your mother. You will be staying with us for a while, will you not?" This came from Loki, as he looked at me, smiling politely.
"It's nice to meet you too. And as for how long I'm staying here, that's what I've been told. I don't' know though, my mom is a little bit unpredictable sometimes." I gave a little laugh, hoping to make it seem like a funny joke, when in realty, she really was extremely unpredictable.
Thor opened his mouth, "Where is your mother?"
I thought about it for a moment, then remembered that she was supposed to be spending the day with King Odin. "She told me she was supposed to be spending the day with your father."
"Ah," Thor nodded.
"Lady Sigyn?! Are you out here?" A guard called out hysterically, running through the rows of plants.
"I'm right here!" I called back in return.
He came into view huffing and puffing, "It's the Allfather. He has asked to speak with you."
I nodded, "Okay. Let's go see him then." I gave him a comforting smile. "Relax. Take a deep breath and then we'll leave, alright?" The guard nodded and took a few deep breaths before he was ready to go.
Thor and Loki insisted to come as we followed the guard back into the castle. We were lead into the throne room where the king stood with his wife Frigga. They stood there, grim looks on their faces. I looked around the room confused, not seeing my mother.
"Sigyn, your mother has left. She made me promise to take care of you, and therefore you will be staying with us until she returns. Unfortunately, we don't know how long that may be."