I can't believe I'm writing this, but here goes!
The sounds of swords and spears slicing through the air were a distant echo.
The courtyards were still and silent, the air thick and stale in the aftermath of a great battle. The reconstruction of Asgard had begun as soon as Thor had left with Loki for Svartalfheim, and it was nothing less than all hands on deck. The palace was still silent in the mourning of the Queen, as well as Loki - who were resting peacefully in Valhalla.
Lady Sif strode the silent halls with no aim or destination in mind. She had retired from her battle armour long since the All Father had detained her and the Warriors Three for their treasonous actions in letting Thor escape with Loki and Jane to Svartalfheim. Her dress trailed across the marble floors, footsteps echoing in the empty cavernous halls. If anyone looked at her from afar, they would not see a warrior, but a princess in deep contemplation, almost ghost like in the tranquillity of the noiseless palace.
She had parted ways with the Warriors Three when they had been released by the All Father after hearing about Thor's victory on Midgard. They were most probably helping with the reconstruction, mending the damage they themselves had been responsible for.
Thor himself had returned from Midgard, but only for a few days. After meeting with the All Father he'd informed Sif and the Warriors Three of his return to Midgard. They had had a boisterous night filled with all the traits of a good old fashioned Asgardian jamboree, but something seemed to be missing.
Sif concluded that it was the absence of Loki. Not his physical presence, just knowing that he was gone forever, somehow subconsciously made them all steelier. Even the loss of Queen Frigga was a hard blow to them all. Sif knew that things would never be the same again, especially for Thor. One half of his family was gone for good, and although Sif knew loss, it could not compare to what he was feeling.
Sif reached an open courtyard and found the All Father Odin standing at the opposite end, looking over the city below.
She was reluctant to call out, in fear of disturbing his contemplation. Biting her lip restlessly her eyes darted from side to side, looking for anyone she could make an escape with. Doubtlessly Odin already knew she was standing there. She pursed her lips and adopted a stiff stride, walking towards the All Father with a solemn air about her.
When she reached his side, instead of speaking she observed the city below. From here one could see the vast expanse of the north side of the realm. In the distance the Bifrost glittered and shimmered with its brilliant rainbow colours. It looked ethereal, even for someone who has seen it everyday for hundreds of years.
"I thought you would have left with Thor, Lady Sif" Odin emitted, without turning to her.
"There is nothing for me on Midgard" From the corner of her eye, Sif saw Odin smile slightly.
"You went there before, for some missions?" Odin quipped.
His tone was somehow light-hearted. Very out of character. Then again with the events that had since passed, everyone had changed.
"Yes. To retrieve Lorelei. And then there was the nasty Kree business"
"Thor was quite troubled by that, you losing your memories"
"What was he afraid I would forget?" Sif smirked, still careful of her tone in Odin's presence. It was always far easier to speak to Frigga than it was to the All Father, at least in her case.
"Him" Odin half smiled and turned to Sif. "He cares for you more than you know, Sif. Don't forsake him just yet"
He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring look before heading away back into the palace.
That startled Sif for a moment. She had never heard the All Father speak so, for lack of a better word, sentimentally.
"I... I won't" She mumbled to herself. Turning, she glimpsed Odin turning a corner, disappearing into the silent halls.
The temperature seemed to drop drastically in those few moments, making Sif acutely aware of her surroundings. Something brushed against her hair, but when she turned to strike it turned out to be just the wind. The sky above darkened considerably. Storm clouds hovered around the distant mountains. Sif had no doubt that rain would shortly follow.
Before she could cross the open courtyard the water rained down. Her hair became a stringy mess and her dress was soaked in seconds.
Damn. My favourite dress that too.
After reaching the shelter of the inner halls she slumped against a wall and ran a hand through her clumpy hair. Her dress had left a dripping trail of rainwater behind her, which made her face red with rage and embarrassment.
Yet another thing to be cleaned. How tedious.
Although Sif wasn't going to be the one to clean it up, it still pained her when she unnecessarily gave more unpleasant work to the servants.
She pinched her nose in frustration. There was nothing for her to do, so why was she here? In this palace, on Asgard. She might as well have gone with Thor to Midgard. Doubtlessly there was something more interesting than an unexpected rainstorm happening over there.
She put all her strength into a punch to the wall, letting out a forceful grunt. She stared at the floor, a puddle of rainwater at her feet.
"Is little Sif vexed by something?"
Her head shot up. There was no mistaking that voice anywhere. Smooth, deep, silky; a silver serpent's tongue.
It was Loki.
From the shadows he watched her reaction carefully. Her eyes were darting from side to side, inspecting every crevice of the empty hall. Of course there was no way for her to see him, no matter how hard she looked. His concealment magic was simply incomparable.
For a second her eyes met his, and he tensed, almost afraid that she could see him. But her gaze left him as soon as it had caught him. He relaxed and strode to her.
Now he was right beside her. It was humorous seeing her reaction, the way her bright eyes scanned every area twice, and then twice again.
"Who's there? Face me" She seethed.
"Oh I think you know who it is" He breathed, right by her ear.
She jumped and spun around, her arms flashing out offensively. "You're playing a filthy game. Using the memory of the dead for your amusement"
She crouched defensively and circled, eyes searchingly trailing the hall, even the ceiling. He leaned against the wall and smirked at her.
"Mmm Sif, I can see through your dress" His voice gave the impression of a leer.
To his surprise she dropped her guard completely and stood up straight. The corners of her mouth turned up in a smirk.
"The real Loki knows that I don't care. So why don't you show yourself" She spat.
He was quite taken aback, which was a rare occurrence. She was completely right, of course - he knew she didn't care for such things - but he hadn't expected her to remember that.
Her gaze settled on his own, and once again he was afraid she could see him. He quickly noticed she was staring past him. Her nostrils flared and her fists were clenched. She glowered in his general direction.
"How strange, Sif. I've seen you angry, but never like this" His voice echoed from everywhere, causing her to glance in all directions for the source.
"Oh don't worry. This is nothing compared to what I'll be like when you show yourself" She hissed distractedly - using half her energy to shout at him and the other half to look for him.
"I don't doubt it" He emitted, gliding to the opposite wall.
Although he could have simply appeared directly in front of her, he preferred something with more novelty and grandeur for his entrance. A bit of a show, you could say.
He relented on his weather-warping magic, and the rains gradually passed. The sky returned to its bright and glittering purple-blue shade.
When Sif's back was turned at the correct angle, he emerged from the shadows, revealing himself.
This is going to be extremely amusing.
When the rain abruptly stopped, Sif knew something was coming. Of course, she drastically miscalculated exactly what that something was supposed to be. Her eyes widened considerably when she felt a presence close behind her.
She spun around, and standing there in all his pompous grandeur was Loki; Son of Odin, Prince of Asgard. Or rather, Son of Laufey, Prince of Jotunheim. He was exactly same as when they had freed him. Same clothes, same hair, same snarky smirk plastered all over his face.
"Hello Sif. Surprised to see me?" His very real voice drifted through the silent halls and echoed loudly.
"..." Sif was stunned to silence.
Her expression was paused at one of extreme shock and also apprehension. It was obvious that what she was seeing was unreal, for she was sure that Loki was dead, but the level of detail marked an extremely talented illusionist. As far as Sif knew the only one with such talents were Queen Frigga and Loki himself - both of which were impossibilities.
"You're not real" She stammered, mostly to herself. "You're not real. This is all a trick" She did a better job of convincing herself this time.
"Well it's a mighty good one then. I mean, look at me! I look marvellous" Loki spread his arms and motioned to himself. There was little lack of sarcasm in his voice, which annoyed Sif to no end.
"I see even in another's image you have no lack of witty comments, Silver Tongue" Sif's voice had a knife edge to it.
"Oh do people still call me that? How intriguing"
He strode, with his hands behind his back, towards Sif. She unconsciously stepped back when he got too close, and he half smiled as she did so.
"So tell me Sif," he leaned and brought his face closer to hers, "How does the 'Dead Me' look up close?"
"No uglier than the 'Alive You'" She blurted.
Loki considered the answer and shrugged. He stepped away from Sif and produced a staff from a pocket in the air.
"Shall we walk a bit?"
"I know you're not real, so you can stop bothering with this illusion, who ever you are" Sif's steely voice was resolute.
Loki raised an eyebrow, seeming rather hurt. "I am offended that you would think there was any other capable of such a detailed illusion, Sif"
"I know there isn't. Which is why I'm interested to know who you are"
"I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose" He echoed in a sarcastic tone, waving his staff about dramatically.
"You are not Loki. Loki is dead" Sif sighed, tired of having to reassure herself every time the illusion in front of her seemed more and more real - that it was just an illusion.
"Is he? Am I? I'm sure you remember what happened the last time everyone thought I had died. Bit of a surprised really, even for myself. I thought for sure that I was gone for good that time" He paced back and forth while reiterating his narrow brushes with death.
Sif swallowed audibly. Loki smirked at her.
She was definitely starting to question her sanity at this time.
What if the Loki in front of her wasn't an illusion created by somebody else, but by her own mind? A way to cope with the loss and the sheer devastation of the events that had come to pass because of Malekith and the Ether. Suddenly she sighed with relief. If she was truly going mad, then it was something she alone could control. This 'Loki' was just a figment of her imagination, obviously.
If there was someone who was using the memory of Loki as an illusion to annoy her, that would indeed be more problematic than her losing her mind. After all, an Asgardian warrior had a very steely mind. With a relaxing bath and a good rest, Sif was sure this whole thing would pass soon.
"Fine" She said with a drastic change in tone. Even Loki raised an eyebrow.
"Fine what?"
"Fine, you are Loki of Asgard. Burdened with glorious purpose" It was becoming tough to keep the sardonic tone out of her voice.
"Oh my sweet Sif, you insult me, but I-" Loki abruptly jerked his head to one side, as if listening intently. His eyes became unfocused and his staff twirled absent mindedly in his hand.
Is this it? Has my mind decided to finally revert to reality? Sif was becoming excited. This whole fiasco would be over and done with for good.
Loki came back to reality as suddenly as he'd left it.
"Unfortunately I have some pressing matters to attend to" His image started to fade, and Sif was becoming happier by the second.
"Don't worry though," he was almost gone now, "I'll be back for you" His last words echoed in the hall, making Sif shudder.
It was a promise or a warning, and for Loki it was usually one and the same.
Sif had a bad feeling that it wasn't over yet.
Her mind's games had just begun.
Gah Sifki is beautiful but we have like 0 MCU canon content for them, except a few scenes in Thor 2.
Pls review at your leisure.
