Summary: The start of a multi chapter origin story for Loki x Sigyn in the Marvel Movie Verse which will incorporate both mythological elements and elements from her comic backstory. This takes place between the Avengers and Thor 2 during his imprisonment. There are no Thor 2 spoilers in this chapter (and won't be for some time, I'll warn you when I get there).
Authors Note: I hope you enjoy this! I don't really write fanfiction often (more of a roleplayer typically), so let me know if you like it as it will encourage me to write more, faster. If you are just here for smut or fluff, all I have to say is be patient little padawan. Such things are more meaningful with time. Once a relationship is established, not right from the get go. I don't do love at first sight. We'll get there. You'll have to stick with me.
Rating: G, Nothing offensive in this chapter. I make no guarantees for later chapters.
Her ears rang with the echoing of sound of boots on stone steps as she descended toward Odin's dungeon. Two figures loomed stiffly behind, flanking her. The metal cart they held between them rattled as they moved. It reminded her of the sound of chains. Somehow the presence of the guards didn't make her feel safer. She attempted to swallow the heaviness in her throat.
This was her first visit to the cells that lay beneath the castle. Most self respecting women of the Æsir didn't find themselves in such a place. But this was a matter of duty. And Sigyn never shrank from duty.
Once exiting the left stairwell she had anticipated a long forced march to the back of the cells, passing the assorted traitors that had been pouring in from the Bifrost thanks to Thor and his compatriots. She expected the former Prince to tucked in the back, forgotten. A shameful reminder of the royal families failings. But she was wrong.
She saw her destination the moment she turned off the stairwell. It was a place of distinction, if a cell could be considered as such. The first cell furtherest from the rest, almost apart from them. All the others were devoid of anything but white. Their prisoners bathed in the righteous light of the Allfather, unable to escape their sins. The prince's cell was decorated neatly with ornate furniture. An attempt at comfort, an effort to disguise what it was; a prison. The dark prince Loki stood. His back leaning against the back of his cell, his arms crossed. As they approached his cell he moved, an effortless, graceful motion, pushing off the wall of light and causally walking toward the front of this cage.
His stared at her with intense green eyes. His head moved slightly on angle, "Fascinating," he said taking on last predatory step forward. She moved back slightly, on instinct.
"To The Back" one of the guards behind her snarled authoritatively. Sigyn heard both the men behind her shift as well as the guards stationed along the walls of the dungeon. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the guards raise their weapons. Loki rolled his eyes and chuckled, raising his hands in the air casually in mock surrender, before slowly turning his back on them and returning to his position on the back wall. He leaned his back against it again, crossing his arms over his chest.
The tension in the room dissipated slightly. The guard to her left hit a control panel with a fist and the shimmering yellow force field dissipated. Her companions lifted the cart once more and stepped into the cell. She closed her eyes a brief moment took a deep breath for courage and followed them.
The guards set the cart in the middle of cell and then retreated leaving her and it alone with the prisoner. She clenched her teeth to keep from jumping when she heard the force field rematerialize behind her. I gave my word. She thought.
Loki stared at her his place near the wall with unsettling intensity. "For a guard, your very poorly armed," he said after what seemed like a millennia.
"I'm not a guard," she said moving slightly to put the cart between herself and him.
He scuffed at her, "Clearly." he said with thick condescension. "Who exactly are you?" he asked.
"I am Sigyn, one of your mothers ladies in waiting. The Queen bid me bring you more books." she tried to speak with confidence, but the words came out faster than intended. She moved toward the cart. She stepped toward a large plater covered with a doomed silver lid. She reached for the handle lifting it. The aroma of roasted meat filled the cell. "She had me bring some food from the great hall as well. She doesn't like the idea of you subsisting on prison rations. She's worried you are too thin." She placed the lid down adjacent to the tray.
His eyes glanced at the peace offerings a moment before moving them back to hers. He frowned. "Is there a reason this task was left to you and not the apes out their as it has been before?" he asked.
Sigyn cleared her throat. "Your mother thought it would do you good to see faces less hostile than palace guards from time to time." To be honest she herself wasn't quite sure why she had been given this task. All she knew was it had been asked of her, so she obeyed. "She hoped it would make the confinement more hospitable."
Loki's lip curled in disgust as he moved toward the cart, looking down at the books, idly lifting one to inspect it. "As though some flighty, little serving girl could make this less of a cell. You have the look of a mouse, that's been tossed to a lion,"
Sigyn's back stiffened and she prickled. A lady in waiting to the Queen, wife of the Allfather, was far from a simple servant. She was worthy of respect. "You are no lion," the words escaped her thinned lips before she had the for thought to catch them.
Greens eyes darted back up at her and narrowed. There was a tense moment of silence. His glance moved to the guards outside and then back at her before relaxing slightly and looking back down at the book.
He shrugged. "Besides, I am more than capable of inventing my own false comfort" he said and snapped. Suddenly the gleaming white walls of the prison dissolved and in there place was an ornate room which much better suited the furniture that held residence in his cell. The floor was a rich dark wood covered with thick fur rugs. The walls hung with beautifully embroidered tapestries.
The illusion was so complete and rich. Sigyn was stunned. Frigga had shown her some simple illusions, a skill had never had great deal of talent for. But this was beyond anything she had even seen the great Queen do. She turned from Loki toward a brazier on an imaginary wall that hadn't existed a moment ago. She reached her hand toward it slowly and was convinced that she could almost feel it's heat. "This is extraordinary. It's so intricate." she said pulling her hand back.
She turned toward what used to be the forcefield which held them in, forgetting the fear she had felt a moment ago. Absorbed in the magic. In it's place was a large open window through which she could see all of Asgard. "There is so much depth to it," she added. She thought for a moment she could feel the winding hitting her face and smell the crisp snow outside. "Do the guards see the illusion? Or can they see us still?" she asked merely curious as she watched a small bird land on the sill and chirped. She reached out as though to touch it.
"They see a version of us," the words curled toward her ears as a veiled threat. Her blood froze as she realized just how dangerous the man in the cage was. He could kill her without the guards outside having any knowledge of it. Who knew what veil he projected to the outside. Frigga had warned her to be wary of her son's magic, but what she asked was a suicide mission.
She turned very slowly facing him again, her eyes wide. He beamed at her. A smile curving the corner of one side of her face. "Dispell it." she said. Her voice as firm and commanding as she could will it.
"But just a moment ago you wanted to discuss it's more technical elements." he said raising a hand and taking a few threating steps towards her.
She stepped back, "Dispell it now." she repeated again. This time almost a whisper.
He gave a sigh and waved his arm absently, tiring of the little game. The cell returned to its original state. the guards continued to watch vigilantly showing no sign that they had noticed a difference. "You bore me, you can leave now," he said dismissively and began to paw through the books on the tray.
Sigyn turned from him again, relived to go. When he spoke again. "A History of the Kings of Asgard, the Laws of the Æsir" the last words were spat and filled with anger. She saw out of the corner of her eye as leather bond tome flew past and hit the glistening barrier between them and the outside world. There was the sound of electricity and it hit the floor of light. "Is that suppose to be some kind of joke?" he asked angrily.
"Your mother choose the books," she said turning back to Loki and the cart. The quicker she left this place the better, he was unstable.
"An entirety in a box filled with subtle insults and slights. Tell my mother she can keep her books" he scowled at the whole lot.
She reached for a smaller lilac book near the bottom of the pile. "This one seems to be poetry" she said extending it toward the man in an attempt to appease the fit. He looked at her outstretched hand and scoffed. He turned and walked toward the bed in the middle of his cell. He lay down crossing his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling. She placed the book back on the pile.
She turned again to leave once again. But before asking the guards to lower the force field she added "You should eat something, your mother..."
"My mother sent you. Do not leave under the assumption that you are her." he snapped, cutting her off.
"As you wish," she said and raised a hand signaling to one of the guards that she was ready to leave. He nodded and moved toward the console.
Loki stared at her from his bed. "You do look strikingly familiar." she said with slight renewed interest. "How long have you been in my mothers service?"
It was Sigyn's turn to smirk. She chuckled. Self centered, preoccupied princes. She doubted Thor would recognize her if she was presented to him. So self absorbed, the lot of them. Her face like many at the palace would fade into the background to them, dissolved in the midst of their own petty lives and conflicts. A speck in a crowd, just a filled chair at the banquet hall. She paused for a moment before speaking "Decades..." she said simply as the force field fell and she stepped out of Loki's company.