Set in stone
It is the marble and stone in the great palace that knew best.
Only they saw what the others hadn't seen.
Sometimes when people can't speak, stone does.
It may crack up, it may wear out, its softness lost, rendered coarse and rough.
Yet the most overwhelming is when it stands still, still against place, still against storms, still against time whose nimble hand only carves on its surface barely visible scribbles.
They become the only surviving witness, the only monument left standing, a testament to heart wrenching stories, to sacrifices, to people who made the wrong choices.
Ah, If their cracks were illegible,
If the stone could cry,
If the alabaster could bleed against its own snow-white skin.
Their story was set in stone.
Their voices rose to fill the great hall of the palace, bouncing off the marble pillars, echoing.
"you can't go through with that, Odin, you will destroy them" Frigga's words so full of anger and contempt were directed to him, cold , sharp, unwavering as though they'd knock common sense into her all wise husband
"I can see no obstacle against my plan"
"No obstacle, I beg to differ" mockery was evident in her tone.
"You can't see the affinity between Loki and Sif. Odin, you will crush Loki by this, we will lose him forever, haven't we had enough since Loki's last rampage? I remember that we have been through hell and back, had it not been for this despicable Thanos, he would have never returned.
Have you considered the Lady Sif's opinion in this? And Thor, he can't see Sif that way, he is still so immature for such a responsibility. I am telling you Odin, this will destroy our family; it might as well cause an irreparable rift between Thor and Loki. Odin, don't play match maker, leave them be."
"Do you think I am doing that as some sort of recreation, a folly business just as to amuse the court? Do you think I care so little for my boys, Frigga?" he burst.
"Prove otherwise then, abandon such foul scheme"
"You are aware of my intention to pass on the throne to Thor, aren't you? You know he will need a loyal, faithful, beloved queen like yourself beside him. you heard of his infatuation with the midgardian woman, haven't you? Will you allow such atrocity to go on? Do you think she will be a worthy queen of Asgard? You know well of Sif's popularity among the people, you know of her and her family's military skills, you are more aware than me of the criticality of such skills to a king, plus she is the only one who can literally knock common sense into Thor, as a queen should be."
"well, it seemed I failed in such task" she could never see reason in her husband's sick logic, she turned her back on him and walked away, praying her heart out to god, to sway her husband's mind, or end it with the least possible damage.
Odin has left.
He emerged from the shadow.
He had no other destination to go to, he had to tell her, they had to figure out something.
He knew that by now she would have left the on going feast and retired to his chambers.
She noticed how irritable he was once he entered.
He went on pacing to and fro, circling the room. she knew better than to disturb him in this mood.
"What am I going to do? What the hell am I supposed to do?"
"About?" she asked cautiously
"he is planning to marry you to Thor"
"Come on Loki, these rumours have been circulating for years, you have been saying that for ages"
"I heard it straight from his own mouth"
"Whose mouth?"
"The all father" he replied impatiently.
Her eyes widened in fear and anticipation, she had always dismissed her 'impending marriage to Thor' as brainless court gossip, never had she once taken it for true.
He sat beside her on the bed, his head in his hands.
She froze beside him in silence for god knows how long.
The air was still, so still that they felt suffocated.
"So, what do you say?" he finally choked
"I don't know, I just don't know what to do"
"You what?" he incredulously inquired "I thought you should say no"
"And?"
"And what?
"You know shall I say no, we will be obliged to leave this realm for good, where shall we go? Don't say Jotunheimr, with all due respect, you know that I don't belong to there, plus Thor's affections for the mortal are taking its toll on his popularity amongst the people, enemies can use such fall out and people might be driven to do something stupid or worse Tyr could jump onto the throne and then all the nine realms would be drawn to chaos"
"They have sworn Loyalty to the all Father" he replied
"Exactly, to the all father, not to Thor and definitely not to you"
"So, where does that leave us?" he wanted an answer, a clear one now
"I can't let my home be torn; I will do what I have to do to protect Asgard"
"I wouldn't care less for the welfare of great Asgard, Vanir" he venomfully hissed
"I expected nothing more; you were never for fidelity, Jotun"
"So, it is Thor, then"
"It is Asgard" she corrected
"You do realise what you are doing to yourself, to me, to us?" he was now yelling at her
"Loki, Just…."
"Just what?" he laughed bitterly "what would you tell me? What words would make it better, Sif?"
"I ….."
"just know, you are in this alone, Sif, I amn't going to be a shadow in this. I may still be at odds with Thor, but I will not do anything to stab him in the back"
"you think this low of me"
"no, Sif. I am telling you the plain truth that you should put in consideration, it is me or him, now walk away, Sif, Leave"
The first rays of the sun were shining through his curtains.
It was Dawn that broke them apart.
The wall of his chambers were closing on him, he just kept banging his hand against the wall as though they would open up, let him catch his breath, he hit onto then till his hands bruised, he hit hard enough for them to indent had they been anything but stone.
She didn't train that day.
She would inadvertently kill anyone who would face her off in training this day.
She took it on a poor white marble pillar in her chamber, clashing her sword against it, harder and harder that the sword was bent, that the pillar bore scratches.
They haven't spoken since that fateful day.
Everything ran out quite quickly from Odin pressuring Thor, to Sif agreeing.
It was the wedding day.
She was the most beautiful bride in all the nine realms. The golden crown shining against the black of her hair.
The dress, from the finest of silk, with the most delicate of intricacies.
The crowds cheering and hailing the Bride and Groom, the king to be and the queen to be.
The most luminous day of Asgard.
Everyone, save the queen and the warriors three was oblivious to how sad Thor was.
To how Sif's eyes were incredibly shining and glistening, clouded with tears and pain.
To how Loki's face was impassive, so impassive, dead like.
It hadn't hit him till this moment.
How excruciating it was, watching her be given away.
It hadn't sunken in until this moment that he had lost her forever.
It wasn't easy, the next few days.
it was too much for him to bear, seeing her with him, everyday.
Hearing the court's remark about the golden couple.
The pain was excruciating, vague.
Sometimes it was numbing, the others it would be throbbing through his heart.
Every breath he took, he felt was his last, he wished would his last.
He couldn't drag himself out of bed for entire days.
He couldn't sleep.
He has never felt so powerless in his life.
He was fading.
He had to flee.
He departed on a delegation to the wastes.
He didn't tell her, he was leaving.
He just simply took off, not even a farewell.
She felt so empty, so sad and …no, not betrayed, he was now just a friend, a brother, nothing more.
she sank to the ground and leant against the stone walls of his chambers.
She wasn't crying, no she wasn't.
He was starting to build a life in Jotunheimr; his fellow frost giants weren't that dim after all.
He seemed to lie his way through them, gaining their trust.
The fact he was Laufey's son helped (he kept the little truth about Laufey's Death a secret).
He was kind of, sort of official king in Jotunheimr.
He still felt dead.
She was engrained into every part of his being, weaved through his magic, she was his shadow, his horizon.
Staying away from her was simply death, misery in its purest form.
Yet, he can't go back.
It would lead to his ultimate insanity.
They were pressured into an heir, which they were both reluctant to give.
Thor ventured to Midgard more often, more than should be, she was grateful for it.
Thor's Soul seemed to be on Midgard, he was as unhappy with the arrangement as Both Loki and Sif.
He was saddened when Loki left as well.
He misses him, he misses the mortal, he misses Old Sif, and he misses himself.
Still, they had to submiss.
To say that the Birth of their son was the best thing that happened to both of them in their lifetime would be an understatement.
His cries echoed against the walls of their Chambers.
His cries ploughed joy in the hearts of his Parents, his grand parents and the whole of Asgard.
He was hurt.
He was happy.
He was hurt, he felt so lonely, so bleak and turned over, weary and old, so old.
He was happy for his brother, he was happy she moved on, she found light.
She had to fake a smile or a laugh everyday,
Thor had to play the doting husband for the short while he'd spend in Asgard, as well.
Their lives became so screwed up.
It was inevitable; he knew he had to visit Asgard at some point and he dreaded it with all his heart.
His mother sent out for him to come, for she misses him, his brother misses him.
He does as well.
He just doesn't want to fall into the bottomless well again.
Yet it seemed to draw him, to call out for him.
He arrived as a king should do.
He arrived in his Jotun Form, much to most Asgardians dismay.
He no longer cared.
He would be what he was born to be.
His heart leapt at the sight of his mother, the first to receive him at the staircase of the palace.
Seeing his old friends was a delight as well.
He found himself searching for her.
She gathered every inch of her mettle to receive him.
She had to look fine.
She had to pretend she was over him.
He could see right through her.
her attempts at masking her feelings were so feeble.
She was so frail, as though life was withering out of her.
It rushes back to both of them, once they meet, they are back to start point.
He was introduced to the new addition in the royal family.
The boy had his father's hair; otherwise he looked so much like her.
"so, my friend" Fandral said "you are staying single forever, come on, every king needs a queen"
He didn't answer. He didn't know what he should say.
He changes back to his Asgardian form during the rest of his stay.
The tension between the three companions (which was non existent long before) was so thick now.
Yet still, Some of the essence of life returned to Sif.
She seemed to come back to life every time she looked him in the eyes.
As though prior her soul was trapped into his verdant mirrors, locked away and taken to Jotunheimr.
Now it is back to its owner.
He had to leave again.
The remorse and regret at his visit comes to him.
He shouldn't have listened to his mother.
He shouldn't have come, for now, the pain is reawakened, raw and fresh, the broken heart aches anew and he feels so lost and confused.
They all came to see him off.
All, except her.
You can't die twice.
So why does she feel as though, she did?
She couldn't see him off, whatever she tried, she couldn't.
Life was slowly sucked out of her, her eyes were expansive and void.
Her health was detoriating; she couldn't carry the weight of a second child.
She lost the child, she fell into coma.
Something similar to the Odinsleep, Eir had said.
Words travelled to JotunHeimr.
He had to depart for Asgard.
They hadn't stayed in a room for this long since a very long time, it was so sad how they drifted apart.
They both Stayed beside her.
Thor was a loyal friend and a merciful man, who wouldn't abandon his friend (now wife) especially when ill.
Loki had no proper title to stay, no proper attachment.
Thor didn't question him, didn't ask him to leave.
Despite how his dignity and pride itched.
Thor's snores were loud enough to wake the dead
'She must be worse than dead' he deduced
"Thor" he called out "Thor" he repeated severally (loudly)
"What, brother?" Thor slipped he semi sleepily answered.
Suddenly they were both alert to the fact that since the incidents in New York years before, Thor hadn't called him 'Brother'
One missed the taste of the word on his tongue.
The other missed the melody of the word in his ear.
"You should go to your chambers, get some proper slumber, I will be here." Loki kindly offered.
"But….."
"Come on, Thor. I know you well enough, it is a miracle that you have lasted this long"
Thor complied.
He leaned against her, so his breath is just caressing her earlobe, his voice nothing but a gentle whisper,
"you know, Sif, sometimes I wonder what it would have been like, had I done better, had I not screwed up in the first place and earned the people's disdain, had I fought harder, prevented you from marrying Thor, even if it meant enchanting or abducting you. Of all the people I know, you are the least calculating, Sif. I should have protected you from yourself, from doing something beyond your forte. It isn't a battle that you can conquer with sword and glaive. Someway or another, not everything turns out alright in this life, yet I promise in the other, I will do better, beloved. I will do better for you, for us. Now, though you have to rise, you have to rise, not for you, not for me or for Thor, for Asgard, For your son, he needs you, more than you know, Unless you want him a mindless bellower like his father. I love you, Sif, more than you will ever comprehend, keep that in you mind and heart, till this mess is untangled or till our world falls apart."
A week later, her eyes stir open.
Frigga, Thor and her son are there.
He is hiding in the shadow, invisible.
She asks for him, he is no where to be found.
He would visit -hidden- and see her nourished to health for the upcoming days.
It was the last day.
He showed himself while she was asleep.
He planted a gentle kiss to her hand and charmed her dreams to be of happier times.
He saluted them and moved on to his departure.
Years have passed,
The line of succession fell on to Thor.
He was now king.
The peace between Asgard and Jotunheimr was less tentative than it used to be.
Delegations were exchanged, treaties were made and signed.
It has become better.
Creatures of fire, creatures of magic and creatures of other unknown realms have decided to raid Asgard.
There stand blue and gold against the raids.
Here stands green and red intertwined.
"A sight to behold, aren't we?" Fandral drawled
"Just like the old days" Hogun commented
"I see your grim disposition has softened" Fandral mocked.
"It is just the occasion, who would have thought after all these years we would be reunited on battlefield yet again?"
Cries and yelling,
Smoke and fire,
Fog and frost,
Rage and red,
Chaos sweeping all over the land.
They aim for the king, and the king takes it.
They aim for Thor and Loki takes it.
They cradle his body in their arms, both Sif and Thor.
"Why?" grief biting at the edge of his voice
"For Asgard…..Jotunheimr…Sif and your son…you can't die Thor, you have a lot to take care of, I have nothing"
"You have your kingdom" Thor Managed to choke between the tears
"No, yours Thor, line of succession falls to you, brother"
"Just, hang on, a little"
"No, it is time, Thor, I just …..love you Thor, my brother and friend" he managed to heavily utter between the splutters of Blood.
"And, you Sif, till the end of Time, and beyond, Sif, I will keep my promise in the other life"
A bloody cough, one very heavy breath, one shudder and his gone.
His funeral was fit for the greatest of kings, one that rivalled Odin's.
He was sent off by the highest of ranks in both Asgard and Jotunheimr.
He was mourned by those who thought him unworthy prior.
She knew if she started mourning, she wouldn't be able to stop.
She would mourn for him, for her.
She would mourn forever and still, she wouldn't be able to honour him enough, to cherish his memory.
So, she locked it away in her heart and mind, till it became so heavy for her to bear.
Sometimes she would drift in a world where he would still be alive, where everything would be fine.
Sometimes she would become so absorbed and deluded in her world of imagination that she would linger in it for months.
Then she would come back to reality, lock herself up, and become depressed.
Such cycle, till she faded for good.
Ragnarok has ended, Asgard is deserted, the grand palace stands still, air stagnant.
Only pillars of alabaster stand tall.
Only walls of stone remnants,
Telling the tales of a city that existed and burnt.
Upon which engraved, the tales of kings and queens.
Scribbles and carves of love stories, painted black and red, pain and sacrifice.
Roughness upon walls of bitter times.
Testament of three worthy people, who may now be in a place of happiness and benediction.
Testament of two lovers, who may have found a happy ending in another life.