It was the sound of children's laughter, and children's laughter only, that echoed off the walls of the Hall of Heroes. The scamper of several pairs of feet soon followed, as the children they belonged to appeared, running around from behind the throne where Asgard's ruler, Odin, usually sat. In their hands, wooden swords were held tightly as each of them became to fight with the each other. They were playing with one another, the clacking of wooden swords against wooden swords, the joy in their eyes and voices unmistakable and rather infectious. Standing off to the sides, waiting in the wings, Odin, the All-father, stood with his wife Frigga, watching with impish smiles on their faces.

Their oldest son, the fair-haired Thor was the liveliest of the children present, trying to play-fight everyone at the same time, shouting out happily, "Surrender your weaponry! I am the mighty Thor!"

"You have the mightiest stench, as well!" came the retort from Sif, her blonde hair pulled back off her face with a leather string.

As those two began to parry , Thor's brother, the dark-haired and green-eyed Loki stood a few feet away, his own sword at his side as he watched everyone, studying them with an intenseness, as if trying to determine the weakest link before he 'went in for the kill'. He was distracted like that until he felt a dull prodding at his back. Loki turned his head to the left to see a girl standing beside him, dark hair and green eyes like him.

Sigyn.

"Are you not going to play?" she asked. Honestly, she was just as happy to stand there, watching the others.

"I am," he responded as she was gently shoved forward.

As she dropped to her knees, she turned to look at Loki, only to see another Loki standing behind where she had been seconds before. "No fair! That's cheating, Loki!"

His double disappeared and he simply laughed. "All is fair in love and war."

Sigyn made a face. "What does that even mean?"

Loki shrugged. "I don't know. I heard my father say it once."

A quick smirk upon her lips and she was on her feet in an instant, throwing herself against Loki, taking him down to the marble floor with her. She sat on his chest in a way that her knees kept his arms pinned to the ground as well. She then snickered down at him as she raised her wooden sword up and lowered the point to the base of his neck, between both clavicles. Her smirk turned into rather devilish grin but instead of keeping him pinned like that any further or him throwing her off of him, she chose to simply pull the sword away, stand up and offer him her hand.

"Thank you," he murmured, sheepishly. His eyes diverted to the others who had taken a moment to see that Sigyn had bested him and then helped him up after the fact. He saw the impish looks on their faces, the teasing in their eyes, like shouting, 'Loki was bested by a girl.'

Without really meaning to, or planning it, he pushed her backward so that she fell back onto her behind. She stared up at him with confusion and slight hurt in her eyes.

"Wha—"

"That is the only time I'll let you win a round, so do not get used to it."

Upon hearing his retort, the other boys and Brunhilde chuckled. Only Sif seemed to bother with coming over to Sigyn to see if she was okay.

Instead of appreciating the gesture, Sigyn shrugged it off and went running out of the hall. She didn't even notice her uncle and ruler, Odin, and his wife as she went past. She ran out of the hall altogether and made her way through a couple corridors to a courtyard where she sat down on a marble bench, slouched forward, her face pinched with frustration. Her wooden sword dropped to the ground with a clatter that echoed off the courtyard walls.

She could have easily gotten to her feet and pushed Loki back, maybe even kicked him for good measure. Instead she chose to let emotions get to her, and run away. Sigyn had had a few reactions like that recently, but her mother, Freya – Goddess of Fertility, Beauty and Love and a Valkyrie – had insisted it was simple growing pains and she was best to deal with it accordingly. But she didn't understand how she was feeling, or how to deal with it. She often felt her mother didn't understand her either. She wasn't affectionate like other mothers and Sigyn didn't think it was because her mother was a Valkyrie. That couldn't be an excuse, because how could she be deemed a goddess of love, otherwise?

It had to be herself, Sigyn usually thought. She resembled her father more, but was different from both by having dark hair, almost midnight black. Her mother was blonde; her father's slightly darker than blonde.

Hunched forward, she fiddled with her fingers and bit her lip as she heard the strong set of footsteps approaching. Sigyn lifted her head to find her father Lodur, God of Solitude and brother of Odin, standing a few feet behind her. He was a handsome man, with a strong and regal face, another aspect of his she inherited. He was looking at her with both concern and amusement, holding his hands in front of his stomach.

"What is wrong, my daughter?"

Sigyn shrugged, growing embarrassed by how she ran off. "Loki," she answered briefly.

Lodur smirked, casually sitting down beside her. "What has he done this time? Has he put snakes in your shoes again? Pulled your hair maybe?"

Sigyn shook her head and looked back down at her fingers. "We were playing warriors in the Great Hall with our wooden swords. Loki tricked me that he was standing next to me, but he just projected a double, then he shoved me. When I got up and knocked him back down and sat on him. And I could have stayed like that, bested him further, but I got up and helped him up," she explained. "And then he shoved me down, saying he let me best him and he would not do it again." Sigyn looked up at her father with a pained expression. "But he did not let me best him, father. I bested him all on my own!"

"He was probably just embarrassed, my darling girl. Boys get like that as children. They must appear stronger than girls, even if agility isn't their forte. He did what he did and said what he did to save face; I doubt he meant it personally." Lodur placed his hand on his only child's shoulder and gave it a consoling squeeze. "Loki is a good boy. If his mother has anything to do with it, she will make him apologize to you later. And you really should have pushed him back."

"I know."

Lodur chuckled slightly, pulling Sigyn close against him for a side hug. "You are going to have to work on running away from your problems. When you believe in something strongly, fight for it. Know when to be respectful but also when to stand up for yourself. If you think something is not right and needs to be changed, you speak up and you try and change it. And I say try, because sometimes we fail. Not every fight that is fought is won. At least then you can say you tried than not having done anything at all."

Sigyn thought about this for a moment, and then got the feeling that her father wasn't really talking about her predicament with Loki anymore and that there was something more problematic under the surface he wasn't letting in on.

"Yes, father." It was all she could think of to say.

Placing a kiss on her temple, Lodur then pulled back and gestured for her to get up. "Go seek out Loki, and either demand his apology or give him a good shove to know you are not to be trifled with."

Sigyn grinned. "Yes, father." With that, she bent down and picked up her wooden sword and took off in a sprint, heading back toward the Great Hall.

Lodur continued to sit there, folding his hands between his knees and he leaned forward. Something darker crept across his face, turning his features serious and conflicted.


AUTHOR NOTE: Slightly short I know, but this is just the beginning...