Young Thor and his friends raced through the labyrinthine halls of Odin's palace, shouting and bellowing as they ran. Thor held in his hands a carved wooden replica of his father's mighty hammer, Mjolnir. "Someday I shall rule all of Asgard!" he cried as they stopped running. They were approaching the great forge, the vast area where all the weapons were made by the smiths. It was one of the group's favorite places to visit. Trying to sneak in, and watching the smiths as they worked on the various weaponry, without getting caught was a thrill that never grew old. Sometimes, one of the children would manage to steal a small item without any of the smiths noticing, but most often the visits ended with them being marched out of the room and forbidden to return.
That day was no different from any of the other times the children had snuck in. Thor led the way, followed by his band of faithful friends, and rounding out the group was Thor's younger brother, Loki. Loki was younger and much smaller than the other children, but Thor permitted him to play with them anyway.
Thor and his friends began to wander around, looking for things to steal, while Loki glanced around the forge, trying to find out where the smiths were. It wouldn't do to walk right into one and spoil everybody's fun so early on. Fortunately, the smiths were all at the far end of the room, with their backs turned. They wouldn't notice the children. Loki turned and began to look at the ornately detailed swords and shields and wondered if one day he might wield one in battle.
He was standing next to a pile of newly forged shields when he saw a girl out of the corner of his eye. Thor and his friends saw her at the same time as well. Sigyn, the daughter of Kjell, the head smith, often worked with her father at the forge. Loki turned and looked at her for a moment. She had long blonde hair, held back in a leather queue to keep it out of her face. Her cheeks were bright pink from the heat of the fires she had been near recently. In her hands she held a shield to be added to the large pile next to Loki.
Thor swept in and grabbed the shield, trying to take it out of her hands. "Little Sigyn," he smirked. "Give me that shield." He tugged on it, but Sigyn held fast.
"No! Father told me to put it with the others," she exclaimed. "You get out of here, Thor, you aren't allowed in the forge!"
Thor scowled at Sigyn and tried another tactic. He pushed her, hard, sending her and the shield flying backward. Both fell to the floor with a clatter. He stepped over the younger girl and bent down to grab the shield. "Now I am the mightiest!" he crowed to his cheering friends, holding the shield aloft in one hand, and the wooden hammer in the other.
Sigyn pushed herself up to a seated position on the floor. "You give that back, Thor!" she cried angrily, tears pouring down her cheeks. She slowly stood up, and faced him, but he was much bigger than she was, and showed no sign of concern.
Thor's friends moved to surround her and began taunting her. "She's so tiny! Can she really be an Asgardian? Perhaps she was stolen from Midgard!" Hogun sneered.
"And she's wearing boy's clothes! Does she think she's a boy?" Fandral cried, referring to the protective clothing she wore to keep herself safe from the fires and heat of the metal.
The lone girl in the group, standing next to the boy and also wearing boy's clothing, punched him on the arm. "Watch your tongue, Fandral!" she growled.
Fandral rubbed his arm and frowned. "Sorry, Siff," he mumbled.
Sigyn continued to cry quietly while the others teased her. Thor finally spoke, breaking through the other's taunts. "You know, one day I'm going to be king and you are going to have to show me a little more respect. When I ask for something, you give it to me. That is how it works, serving girl."
Loki was unsure how to handle the situation. He was no bigger than Sigyn and was unable to use brute force to fight off Thor and his group of followers. He had learned the hard way in the past that it was not worth it to try. He quietly and quickly ran to the door of the forge and looked outside for a guard. Within seconds he found one, and commanded him to summon Frigga. Loki hoped his mother would give Thor a good thrashing this time. He always seemed to get away with his terrible behavior, but this time might be different.
Thor was still in the middle of his dressing down of Sigyn when Frigga arrived. Loki stood back to the side in order to see the entire confrontation from a good angle. "Thor, what is going on here?" Frigga demanded, placing her hands on her hips and frowning. She grabbed Thor by the ear and pulled him away from Sigyn and his friends. "I was in the midst of planning for the grand banquet in a fortnight when I was summoned to stop whatever trouble you have started. I demand an answer!"
Frigga's yelling had drawn the attention of the smiths at the far end of the room. They came over to see what was happening. When Sigyn's father saw his daughter looking distressed, he rushed over to her. "What is the matter, girl?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her protectively. "What trouble have you started?"
"All I wanted was to look at the shield the girl was holding, and she wouldn't give it to me," Thor told his mother sullenly while everybody in the room listened.
"Was it your shield?" Frigga asked.
"No, mother."
"And how did you come to get the shield?"
Thor sighed and looked at his feet. "I pushed her to the floor and took it from her."
"You used force against a small, unarmed girl? Does that seem the mark of a brave warrior to you?"
"No, mother."
"Does that sound like the mark of a good and just king?"
"No, mother."
"Have you ever seen Odin or myself treat any of those who serve us in such a fashion?"
"No, mother."
Frigga sighed and shook her head. "Thor, I am very disappointed in you. Now, I want you to apologize, and then you will say farewell to your friends for the rest of the day. You will spend the remainder of the day with me as I plan out the banquet, where I know you won't cause any more trouble."
Thor sighed and turned towards Sigyn. "I apologize for pushing you and stealing the shield and taunting you." He mumbled the words, but Sigyn understood them.
"I accept your apology," she replied graciously. They bowed to one another, signifying the end of the conflict.
Frigga stepped over and shook the head smith's hand. "Kjell, I trust there are no hard feelings," she said with a courteous smile.
"None, my lady," Kjell replied with a deep bow.
Frigga turned and smiled kindly down at Sigyn. "Sigyn Kjellsdottir, my son will no longer trouble you," she assured her before patting her on the head. She straightened up and turned to leave. "Come Thor." Thor slowly followed after his mother, the rest of his friends trailing after him.
Only Loki remained behind. Loki had relished every moment of Frigga's interaction with Thor. That Thor was being made to do women's work for the rest of the day was an even more enjoyable thought as well. It served him right.
Kjell smiled at his daughter before returning to his duties. The two children were alone. Sigyn bit her lip for a moment. "You're Loki, aren't you? Thor's brother?" she asked shyly.
Loki frowned and rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately," he replied. He looked carefully into Sigyn's warm brown eyes and felt a fluttering sensation in his stomach. He did his best to ignore it, but then she smiled at him. Nobody usually smiled at Loki. Nobody paid much attention to him in general. But Sigyn was looking right at him, and smiling. He didn't know how to react.
"You must be very patient to put up with your brother," she commented.
Loki shrugged his shoulders. "He's dumb," he replied.
Sigyn nodded her head. "I saw you run out to summon your mother," she said. "That was very brave of you to do that. I am forever in your debt for helping me today."
Loki willed himself not to blush. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "It was nothing," he said gruffly.
"Oh but it was!" Sigyn replied before appearing to not know what to say next. A minute passed before she spoke again "Well…If you like, you can visit here again some time. I could show you how the weapons are made. You could even design one if you wanted…"
Loki looked at her. His heart raced before he summoned the energy to shake his head again. "I…I…don't need a girl whose father works for mine as a friend," he replied quickly. Satisfied that he had regained control of his feelings, he turned and ran out of the weapons forge, leaving Sigyn biting her lip once more.
Sigyn watched sadly as Loki ran away from her. She had been so close to making a friend. She didn't have many friends, and Loki seemed like he would have been a good one. With a sigh, she returned to her task of stacking shields.