I apologize already for the mistakes that will show up….
Title: The Start is Always Political
Rating: R
Characters: Sigyn, Loki, Freyja, Freyr, Njord, Odin
Summary: Sigyn does not know who she is, and where she fits in. She has been given a chance at something and she will follow through with it till the end.
….
She rushed out of her room as the sound of the horns, blasting through the hall. Her long legs allowed her to reach the meeting room in record time, hair disheveled, face flushed, chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
"Sigyn! I'm glad you could join us!" Freyr laughed, his hazel eyes twinkling with mirth, but she could also see the worry and hesitation in those eyes. He had his arms spread open for her, and she did not disappoint, ignoring the glaring elves around her, she walked up and fell into Freyr's arms.
"You haven't been here in a while, have the Aesir been keeping you busy?" Sigyn asked, pulling back and looking slightly up to Freyr's eyes.
"Yes, they have, and let me tell you that those Valkyries are getting on my nerves." Cut in a voice that Sigyn knew well. She smiled and looked behind Freyr, where his sister stood, hands on her hips.
"Where is my hug? Do you love me less than my brother?" Freyja asked with a raised eyebrow. Sigyn shook her head and hugged her next.
"Why are you wearing so many clothes, sister? What happened to the clothes I gave you?" Freyja asked with a frown, poking at the ugly light blue dress Sigyn was wearing.
"Freyja, leave Sigyn alone, not everyone can be running around naked like you do, some actually have some decency." came in the strong booming voice of Njord. Sigyn immediately pulled away from Freyja and launched herself at Njord.
"I have seen less of you than the other two." Sigyn scoffed, hugging Njord tightly.
"My apologies Sigyn, but that is one of the reasons why I have come to speak with you, but later, for now, let us enjoy the feast!" Njord called out, causing the elves to sit down and begin drinking and talking.
Freyr and Freyja led Sigyn over next to them, before elves came around to serve them. Sigyn just shook her head and watched her adopted family enjoy themselves. It was the smallest feeling of relief, having them around. At least there were some that didn't shun her, not like the rest of the elves that she lived with. When Freyr wasn't around, he left her in charge of Alfheim, but she wasn't vanir and she wasn't an elf, so her instructions were hardly ever followed. The elves around her had light colored eyes and light colored hair, with sharp features, slender and graceful.
She on the other hand, stood out like a thumb, with coal black hair and chocolate eyes. She was tall with long legs, that Freyr whistled at all the time and that Freyja made quite clear she envied. She was lanky and not graceful, with awkward angular face features that were sharp and not elegant like the elves.
She did not belong in Alfheim, but this had become her home now.
It was the following day, Sigyn had this strange feeling that something was going to happen. She had been getting that feeling for a couple of days now, it wasn't strong and she couldn't see the future like the Vanir could, but she was aligned with them, and as such, her affiliation with them allowed for her to be seen as a volva of sorts. She has not dedicated herself to such an endeavor, choosing the path of divination was an important choice, and not something to be taken lightly, but she knew that the twins wished for her to follow them.
She was hesitant, after all, she had enough insecurities without adding the role of a Volva to it. No, she first wanted to learn more about herself….. It wasn't everyday that a half-breed was seen in Yggdrasill…..
"Are you sure this is a good idea, father?"
"Sigyn is still young and besides, what makes you think they will allow her in Asgard?"
Sigyn froze right outside the doors, unable to help herself from listening in to the argument going on inside.
"Her heritage would allow for the joining of a number of-"
"She is a half-breed, father. She won't be seen as the trophy wife that will united the nine worlds. We, the Vanir, are more tolerant than others, and yet some of us still have reservations about her. Why else did we bring here to be raised in Alfheim, father?"
Sigyn felt rage boil inside of her, something that she blamed upon one of her parents, and burst into the conference room.
"Why are you talking about me? And in what mess have you three placed me in?" Sigyn snapped, eyes flashing dangerously.
The other three shared a look, unsure of who should go next, the one who ended up losing was Freyr, after all, he was all sunshine and happiness, and Sigyn's favorite.
"As you know, the Vanir and the Aesir are not best friends," Freyr started, "and the last time that we wanted a truce, we went over to stay with them while they sent two men to the Vanir. Of course, things went bad and the truce, was not completely ruined since we stayed with the Aesir, but it is easily broken."
"After talking, we figured that a marriage between the Vanir and the Aesir could cement and make the truce stable." Freyja added.
With that said, Sigyn knew now what was expected of her. She was being given to the Aesir as a bride of one of them.
"So I am to be wed to one of the Aesir?" Sigyn asked, having calmed herself down.
"Yes, kind of….." Njord spoke up, shifting in his seat, nervously.
"The Aesir do not want a half-breed for a bride, I take it?" she asked dryly, after all, she had already figured that she would end up never marrying.
"You wouldn't be marrying an Aesir, but a Jotun." Njord corrected.
"Loki, Odin's Blood Brother." Sigyn muttered, realizing that of course the All Father would have her be given to his brother, both as a gift to him but also as a way of creating connections between the Jotun, the Vanir, and the Aesir. All Father was definitely a sneaky fellow and he knew what he was doing; she shouldn't be surprised after all, he was the All Father and he had wisdom at the tip of his fingers. He was also in charge of keeping the world on track…..this made her wonder, just what part did she play now? She had always thought herself to be easily ignored, as having no part in the future of Yggdrasill, but this made her realize that she had been wrong. The All Father must know that she had some part to play in future events, which meant that her adopted family must have an inkling of the events as well. She looked at them, hard, wondering just what it was that they could see.
Her future was inter connected now, both with despair and happiness, after all, that was part of life….be it mortal, Aesir or Jotun.
She knew she would not be welcomed in Asgard, she was not full Aesir, but she would not be welcomed in Jotun, for she was not a full Jotun either. She was not accepted in Alfheim, with the beautiful elves, and the Vanir were sympathetic but also cautious of her double heritage. She wouldn't ever belonged, and this would be no different.
She couldn't say no; she was too nice and if her marrying Loki, Son of Laufey, helped the Aesir and the Vanir, well, she would do as the Nons have decreed and go ahead with the wedding…
"I will marry him, then." Sigyn stated, before turning around to go back to her room.
"You don't have to, daughter." Njord spoke up before she left the room.
"Yes, I do."
"This path will lead to despair." Freyja muttered, wishing she could do something to help Sigyn, but she knew she couldn't. Sigyn might not have been her real sister, but Freyja had seen her grow up…
"We all face despair, sister, but with despair there is always happiness to balance it out. After all, the world if made of dark and light, always things to overcome." Sigyn turned to smile at her adopted family, before walking out of the room.
The three Vanir watched her go in silence.
"Spoken like her father, do you think she knows that the wisdom she carries comes from him ?" Freyja asked, voice soft as images of the past run through her mind. She could still remember seeing him for the first time, with the crying and bleeding baby in his arms. He had been petrified with fear, wondering if the baby was going to die for she had been severely injured. Freyja, to this day, did not know how it was that Sigyn had ended that way, all that the father mentioned was that the mother had been killed and he saved the baby, before he was sent to the Vanir. The Aesir did not know that he had the baby with him, they didn't know about her and he didn't want them to know….not yet….for her safety….
It wasn't long before the father was disposed of, before the baby girl up and it was noticed that she wasn't Vanir, that she was too big for her age, but too small for a Jotun….everyone found out about her and they wanted to know who the parents were, but the three of them were the only ones that knew about the father…..and it was a secret they promised to keep…..they still wondered who her mother had been….
"She is an Aesir and a Jotun, her life was destined to be, like his, full of trouble, but just like him, she is strong. She would have ended with him sooner or later." Freyr muttered, slipping a grape into his mouth.
"She might know it, she might not, but like her father, she is wise and realizes that knowing would not change her fate…..in the end, her father gave her a fitting name, Sigyn, victorious."
….
Sigyn stared around in amazement, for Asgard was indeed a beautiful place. It was gigantic and she actually felt a bit small, it was a different feeling and she looked towards her family and saw that they looked small too, and in the other halls they had always looked big and intimidating. Here, they seem to look normal, to fit in with the rest of the Aesir.
Sigyn could feel the eyes of Aesir on her, wondering what she was doing there. It was obvious who she was, everyone knew that she was Sigyn, the half-breed, adopted by Njord, taken in by the Vanir and raised in Alfheim.
She tended to be bigger than most of the elves, even though they were tall themselves, she was still taller than most. Here, though, her height didn't make her stand out too much. She also saw that there were dwarves coming and going, probably selling and coming to meetings with the All Father. She caught glimpses of some giants, laboring about. It was different.
….
Loki wasn't sure what to expect, really. Odin had told him that he had something for him and he was definitely excited. He loved presents, who didn't?
He also knew that this was something serious by the tone of Odin's voice. They had been blood brothers for a while now, they knew each other, and traveled together. He could easily read the other and knew that when Odin told him he had something for him, it was more of a request and an order, than an actual gift. Still, Loki was curious and he couldn't help but be excited to find out just what exactly Odin had planned.
He had an inkling as to what it could be, after all, he had been hearing things about the Vanir and the Aesir fighting a lot more recently.
He hadn't been around lately, spending time with his family, causing havoc with them like the responsible father he was, even if his wife always berated them for causing a mess. He leaned back on his chair and smiled fondly at the memories of his family.
He was glad he wasn't an Aesir, because he saw the family ties and they were not that great. The Vanir, well, the Vanir were different…..their family ties were strong, but lose at the same time. He knew it had to do with the fact that they were fertility gods and goddesses. That was a focus and the mortals, well, they didn't say no to the orgies in the name of the Vanir for a good harvest…..Loki would have been celebrating and sacrificing to the Vanir if it meant orgies everyday…..if he had been a mortal, Loki chuckled before the door began to slowly open, breaking him from his thoughts.
In came in Odin and Njord, but behind them walked in a girl. Loki was sure that she couldn't be of age, and if she was, well, she must have recently turned of age. She had deep chocolate eyes and her hair was a pitch black…..it seemed that she still needed to have a growth spurt for her clothes looked too big on her and her cheeks and chin were too sharp.
Loki immediately knew who it was, after all, he had caught glimpses of her when he had to take messages to Freyr in Alfheim.
"Sigyn, my daughter." Njord pushed Sigyn forward to greet Loki.
Sigyn kept her eyes down, face flushed because of the intense stare Loki was giving her.
Loki was amused with the shy and quiet creature in front of him. Sigyn, the half Aesir and half Jotun. He had always wondered about her, and had been curious about her, but she was a hidden jewel, stowed away deep in the halls of Alfheim.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sigyn, I am Loki, Son of Laufey." Loki stood up and took hold of Sigyn's hand, noticing just how tall Sigyn actually was, even though she looked small in her dress.
"The pleasure is all mine." Sigyn responded, voice soft as she quickly retracted her hand from Loki's grasp.
Loki laughed, green eyes twinkling as he turned to the other two.
"Is she my precious gift I was promised then?" he asked the other two, voice laced with seriousness.
"She will be your wife in six months." Njord responded, voice curt, still worried and apprehensive about giving his daughter, be it adopted, away. It was not that he was worried that it was Loki, because Njord didn't have anything against the Jotun, but it was just that Sigyn was still young and he worried about her. How could he not? He could still recall very clearly when Freyja brought the dying baby to him and Freyr, and they healed her and raised her as part of their family. she was a part of their family, she would always be.
Loki looked to Sigyn, who was clutching unto the sides of her dress as if her life depended on it. He frowned, wondering just why had she agreed to marry him if she did not want to, because he was sure that Njord was not forcing her to.
"This is the best gift I've been given by far," Loki said, causing Sigyn to turn even a brighter shade of red and risk glancing up to look at Loki's face.
Loki just grinned, while Odin let out a sigh of relief that things were working out after all. Njord knew that Sigyn would be alright for now, but he still couldn't help but worry.
Loki watched as Njord led Sigyn out of the room.
"Do you think she will be accepted as fair trade?" Odin asked Loki, staring intently at his face.
"I do not know, brother, they probably will, since the moment she was made part of Njord's family, she was automatically seen as Vanir, blood related or not. Though, I am surprised that you would think of giving her to a Jotun, after all, we might be blood brothers, but I am still a Jotun, and not accepted by everyone." Loki pointed out, turning to stare back at Odin, not backing down.
"I accept you, brother, that is enough." Odin responded.
"Of course, All Father," Loki said, mock bowing before turning to leave the room.
"She really is the best gift you've given me." Loki muttered, before slipping out of the room.
Odin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sometimes, he wasn't sure what exactly it was that he was doing. Sometimes, he wished he didn't have to plan and place things into motion. He really did love his brother, as much as himself, but he was as much under control of everyone, than everyone under his control.
He hoped he knew what he was doing, and that Sigyn brought Loki some happiness before….before everything ended…...
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Political marriages, that always leads to more, don't you just love those plot lines?
Once again, sorry for mistakes, I don't know Norse mythology that well, I am just writing from what I remember, especially when this is written without the help of internet for research!