OK, so this chapter is more of a memory/flashback type thing. I'm going to be telling a lot of the story through memories because, you know, loki's got a lot of time to think. Some chapters will be memories, some will be in the present, and some will be both-like this one. I'll be sure to tell you so you don't get confuzzled. So… enjoy.
…
He lay in his cot waiting. It was cold and hard, little better than the floor, but it didn't matter. He wasn't going to be in it for much longer, it would be inappropriate to be in bed when he a guest.
She would be here any minute, he knew she would. She was pathetic like that, always letting her emotions get the better of her. Even though he yelled at her, even though he was cruel, she would still be back. Because she loved him. At least, she claimed to. And she would be back here to prove it to him.
He waited, listening intently for the sound of footsteps. He heard nothing. There was nothing but silence. There was not a single sound from the outside world. He was growing impatient; she should have been here hours ago. She was doing this on purpose, trying to get inside his head like he would get inside hers.
He perked up suddenly, hearing the heavy fall of footsteps approaching him. He sat up slowly, brushing off his tunic. "I knew you'd turn up sooner or later."
"Well, someone has to bring you your food." Said a gruff voice. Loki looked over to see a tall, bulky man holding a tray of food. One of his guards. Of course, he should have known by the clunk of his step that it wasn't his Sigyn.
…
Another day passed, and then another, and Sigyn still hadn't shown up. The woman was trying his patience. How dare she be so selfish? Forcing him to sit here alone in silence. Didn't she know that he needed her?
Loki caught sight of his reflection. He saw the desperation in his own eyes and was disgusted by it. He was being weak, letting Sigyn get to him. She was making him crazy, he could see it. His eyes were deranged, his lips were snarled, his…
No. He wasn't going back to that. He was a prisoner, but he was still royalty. He wasn't going to go mad spending the rest of his days having a staring contest with his own reflection. He was going to maintain his dignity.
…
Days went by and Loki was still alone. He had nothing to do but think about her. Sigyn, daughter of the King of Vanaheim and an Asgardian noble. Raised in both worlds but belonging in neither. Sigyn was gifted, like him. Magic ran strong through her blood. She was talented, maybe even more talented than him. But it would never amount to anything, she would never user her magic they way he did. They were so similar yet so different. It was part of what attracted him to her.
He recalled how they had met, back when they were younger. He was only a boy. She lived with her mother, one of Frigga's handmaidens. Even before he had met her he had heard of her, whispers through the kingdom about the unmarried noblewoman who had a child with a non-Asgardian. At the time he did not think it was strange but everyone around him seemed to look upon them with shame, so he thought it best to act the same way.
He was in the garden one afternoon, hiding from his brother. Thor was intent on playing warriors and jotuns with him and he always had to be the jotun. It wasn't til much later in life that Loki realised the irony behind it. He wandered through the garden aimlessly, smiling to himself. He took in the smell of the flowers and the feel of the sun on his back.
He was wandering around for hours when he came across a girl. She was young, younger than him, and was sitting in the garden bed tending to the flowers, humming quietly to herself. It took Loki a moment to realise that she was making the flowers grow magically. A grin spread across his face as a wicked idea came to mind. Loki picked a leaf off a nearby bush. He held out his hand and focused. The leaf quickly sprouted wings and transformed into a strange, wasp-like creature.
The insect flew out of his hand and charged for the girl. She heard it's mad buzzing and looked up, letting out a scream as she caught sight of the insect. The young girl ran, trampling her flowers as she tried to get away. There was a loud thud as the girl tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. Loki laughed at the girl's misfortune.
"Stop it, it's not funny…" She said with tears in her eyes. She gasped suddenly, remembering her flowers. Rushing over to the garden bed, she saw the state of her flowers and broke down sobbing.
Loki frowned; it wasn't funny if she was this upset. He walked over a kneeled beside her. "Please stop crying, I'm sorry."
"That's ok." She said finally, wiping her eyes. "I can fix it."
She held her hands out over the trampled flowers and made a pulling motion. Slowly, the flowers start rising and growing once more. Loki leant over and started mimicking her actions and soon enough the flowers were back to their original state.
"There" He said with a small smile. "Back to normal. I've never met another magic user that was my age before, you're very talented."
"Thank you." She said, standing up and brushing herself off.
"I am Loki, Son of Odin."
"The prince…" She bowed. "I am Sigyn, Daughter of Njord."
He looked at her in confusion. "Njord? The Vanir king?"
The girl nodded slowly. "Yes…"
Loki eyes widened in realisation. "You're that half breed girl."
"Don't call me that!" She yelled.
"But you are." He laughed. "You're the daughter of a pathetic king and a trollop. Everybody says so."
"I am the daughter of an Asgardian and a Vanir if that's what you mean." She pouted. "Prince or not, you're not very nice. I don't think I want to talk to you anymore."
The young girl - Sigyn - stormed off down the garden path. Loki followed her in shock. Why would she just storm off like that? What had he done wrong?
"Where are you going?" He called after her. "Please don't leave. I just… want to be friends. Can we not be friends?"
"I'm sure the prince has no need for a friend with such poor lineage. He must already have plenty of friends." She snapped at him.
"No… I don't." Sigyn stopped in her tracks and turned to face the young prince. There was sadness in his eyes as he spoke.
"Come this way." She told him. "There are more flowers that need tending."
After that they spent nearly all their time together, teaching each other magic and playing games. He would even drag her along when he played his tricks. Eventually he introduced her to Thor, who quickly welcomed her into their little group. And she loved being part of it. Sigyn would make him play with the others as often as she could. She was the reason he felt so accepted by them, before she came along he was just an outsider to Thor and his friends, but she showed him that he really did belong. Everyone loved her. Fandrall, a ladies man even at such a young age, would try to win her over by letting her play with his hair or by bringing her flowers. Young Sif was not a fan of her at first, claiming she was too girly. Loki believed that she was just jealous that Sigyn's hair was prettier than her own golden locks. But after a while even Sif had to admit that Sigyn was perfect. She was kind and smart and beautiful. They spent their childhood together, all of them the best of friends.
And then she had to leave.
They were both still so young. She had been chosen by the Norns to become their apprentice. The Norns were Vanir, but their powers were respected across all the nine realms. It was a huge honour, only those whose magic was truly worthy were chosen to study under them. Unfortunately it meant she had to go away, back to the Vanaheim to live with her father.
All Sigyn's friends had come to see her off that day, as well as Queen Frigga, who was making sure her trusted handmaiden would have a safe voyage while she escorted her daughter to the Vanaheim. They stood at the Bifrost saying their goodbyes. The group huddled around Sigyn, childishly fighting over who would miss her more. Volstagg, who was slightly older than the rest of the group and towered over them, claimed it was he who would miss her the most because of all the time they spent cooking together. Sif claimed it was her as she was the only other girl in the group. But they all knew it was Loki, who ironically was not joining in on the playful argument, who would miss her the most.
"Farewell, Sigyn!" a pre-pubescent Thor exclaimed as he released her from a strangling hug.
Loki looked at her sadly. "Do you have to go?"
"I'm afraid she does, little prince." Her mother said, putting a hand on Sigyn's shoulder.
"Don't Fret, Loki." Sigyn gave a sad smile. "I will return, someday. When I'm older, right mother?"
Sigyn looked up to her mother, who smiled in assurance.
"King Njord and his guards are waiting." Heimdall spoke up, startling all of them. "It is time."
Sigyn's mother nodded. "I will be back as soon as I can." She said, bowing to the queen.
"Take as much time as you need." Frigga smiled.
"Goodbye Loki." Sigyn gave him one last hug before turning and entering the Bifrost with her mother and Heimdall. He heard their friends calling out to her and he waved farewell to her as they did, but he couldn't bring himself to be happy for her. He would miss her too much.
A large flash of light shot from the centre of the Bifrost and out into space. She was gone. Years later, when Loki was a young man, she would return to Asgard for good. Loki still saw her every now and then. Occasionally, she would come to visit her mother, and by extension Loki, in Asgard. Once he and his friends even travelled to the Vanaheim and ran into her. But as time went by the visits eventually stopped and Sigyn fell to the back of Loki's mind.
…
Loki laughed at how easy it had been for him to forget about Sigyn then. He just pushed her to the back of his mind like she was nothing. He couldn't do that now. It wasn't that he didn't want to, he just physically couldn't. Back when she was nothing but a childhood friend of course it was easy for him to forget about the time they spent together, but as he grew older and Sigyn became more than just a friend to him, he found it harder and harder to forget. Now he was sitting here in solitude, nothing to do but remember everything he had tried so hard to push away.
He pounded his fist against the glass of his cage and growled at the darkness outside. Why wasn't she here? How dare she just show up and poison his mind with these thoughts of her, then abandon him down here in the darkness. She did this on purpose. This was revenge for what he did to her. For abandoning her, for betraying her…
No. She betrayed him. It was her who didn't believe in his plans. She let him fall, she didn't search for him. He wasn't a bad husband, she was a bad wife. Disloyal to her husband, when loyalty was what she valued to very much.
But still there wasn't a night that went by while he was gone that he didn't think of her. He remembered wishing she was with him, by his side as his queen. He thought he had buried those feelings when he waged war on Midgard, yet here they were now. He loved her and he hated her. He wanted to protect her and destroy her. She caused him too much confusion.
He lay down in his cot once again. There was no outside light so he wasn't sure if it was night or not, but he didn't care, he was tired. He rolled over and shut his eyes. Maybe tomorrow he would wake and thoughts of the wench would be gone from his mind.
…
If this is confusing, tell me and I'll rewrite it. I wasn't too sure how to go about the whole flashback/memory thing so I'm going to be figuring that out while I write this. Also, I have two other stories about Sigyn and Loki that are in canon with this one, so give them a read if you'd like. They're only short. One of them is about Loki's trip to Vanaheim, which I mentioned here briefly. In regards to age, loki/sigyn are about 5-6 yrs old in appearance when they first meet, they don't really talk like that though. When she leaves I'd say they're about 12, just to give you an idea. Tell me what you thought; the other chapters will be more interesting than this I promise!
Xx
