Thanks for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites! I love any and all feedback, regardless of whether you love or hate the story, and will respond to all reviews that I receive.
Stiles Lokison- I'm afraid I can't answer that...you'll have to find out about the baby when Sigyn and Loki do ;)
"Are you sure I cannot use magic? Just this once?" It was nearly time for the banquet to begin, and while Sigyn was ready in every other respect, her hair still needed work.
"It is not proper, my lady," murmured Gefion as she continued to arrange the rich red curls. She, along with two other girls, had been sent by Queen Frigga herself to assist in Sigyn's preparation; her Vanir handmaidens were adept at the elaborate Aesir styles after so many years, but they were still nowhere near as swift or precise as the Queen's own servants.
"We are nearly finished," added Fulla, passing a pin to Gefion. "Vor, one more- yes, thank you. My lady, how does it look?"
If she were to be perfectly honest, she would probably break these sweet girls' hearts. While it was clearly well - crafted and intricate, the twists and tumbles of curls made her feel like a lapdog, not a princess. The few months she'd been away to Vanaheim had made her forget how much she hated this kind of hair. "It is lovely; thank you, ladies, for assisting me," she smiled, sounding for all the realms like she meant it thanks to a life spent in royal courts and years spent with one of the best liars she had met.
"Thank you, Princess Sigyn," said Vor with a curtsy. "The banquet should begin shortly; his majesty the Allfather requested that you enter with Prince Thor, who should be arriving any moment now."
"I appreciate the information," she nodded. "You are free to go." Thor? It did make sense, logically. As the Princess of Vanaheim she deserved the arm of a prince, and seeing as her husband was unavailable, that left Thor. But she still did not relish the idea of being escorted by anyone but her Loki. At least Thor was her friend; well, she hoped he would be, after all of that business that had happened with his brother. Maybe he can tell me more.
Her brother-in-law was usually late, so she was surprised to see him outside in the hall when she opened her door. "Thor." she nodded, giving a small curtsy. "You are here to escort me to the banquet?"
"Yes, of course." he smiled, though she noticed it wasn't quite as beaming as usual. He offered her his arm as they began to walk down the hall. "How was your time in Vanaheim?"
"Unremarkable." she shrugged. "I may have missed home itself sometimes, but I never missed being constantly around my father."
"I can understand that." Thor said with a chuckle. "Asgard should be more pleasant, at least in that regard. Are you looking forward to the banquet? You look rather lovely."
"Yes, thank you." Sigyn waved off his compliment with her hand. While she did, of course, appreciate it, she had heard those words or some equally bland variation so many times that they meant little anymore. Loki was never bland. "Not overly, I must admit; I simply cannot imagine any court function being enjoyable without my Loki by my side."
It was almost funny how quickly his face darkened. "So you still…support him? Even after all that he has done?" Thor's voice was low and serious, thick with emotion.
She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Yes. I do. To be fair, no one has told me exactly what happened and, well, I know he did not do it of his own volition."
"Sigyn, I know you went to talk to him, he is likely using your love to manipulate you-"
"Thor, no. How long have we been married? Do you really think I would allow him to trick me?" She bit her lip and swallowed, her voice becoming softer now. "Besides. He would never lie about something that would put me and our - me in such danger. I will tell you what he said after this thing is over; just trust me with this."
"I do not know if I can." he muttered.
"Well, you have to. You are one of the only people who might have the slightest chance of being willing to help me, and him."
"I do not know if he deserves help. You did not see what he did on Midgard; I did."
"Then tell me." she murmured, her deep blue eyes catching his lighter ones. "Tell me what makes you distrust him so."
"He murdered innocent Midgardians. His Chitauri soldiers killed hundreds more. He tried to take the Tesseract - the Tesseract - for his own gain. And then he stabbed me and betrayed me. That is why I do not trust him, Sigyn."
Those were all very valid reasons; if she didn't know about Thanos, she'd be ready to beat him up herself. "And I would agree, if I did not know that he suffered. I do not know how and I do not know if I want to ask, but he was forced into those things." She scrunched her face up into an expression of distaste as they reached the entrance to the great hall. "Much like I am being forced into this. We will speak later?" Her tone didn't leave much room for disagreement.
"If you wish it." Thor sighed; he knew better than to argue with her. He gestured to the gilded doors in front of them and raised his golden brows. "Are you ready to eat, drink and make merry?"
"You know it." she said wryly, tightening her grip on his arm as she exhaled. Relax. Just relax. She was a princess; they would respect her and leave her be. Her father wasn't here giving them permission to be intrusive, so the nobles of the court would give her space. She could enjoy herself with Thor. She could. And if she didn't at least try, she was sure to have a dismal evening. "Okay. We can go in now." The guards pushed the doors open and Sigyn walked through, moving with a grace that looked more effortless than it was.
As soon as they entered, those seated at the scattered tables rose - even the King and Queen themselves, in honor of their guest.
"We welcome Prince Thor Odinson of Asgard." the herald called out. "He escorts the esteemed guest of both the Asgardian court and the Allfather King Odin: Princess Sigyn Iwaldisdottr of Vanaheim."
No, no, absolutely not. Her face remained frozen in its smile, revealing nothing of the anger coiling in her stomach. She was Odinsdottr and princess of Asgard as well; it was like she had never been married to Loki. Or like they chose to forget him, wipe away our love without so much as asking me. But maybe it was an honest mistake. Maybe they were going off of her father's words and simply didn't know any better.
Just give them a second chance. For Loki's sake. She would overlook that slight for now, play nice to keep things from getting any worse for her husband, but if anything like that happened again…
"Are you going to kill someone?" Thor muttered as they walked to their table, which sat on a raised dais in the center of the room.
"Not yet." she said, barely moving her lips from the seemingly-genuine smile she was quite proud of. That smile flickered for a moment, almost becoming real, when she saw Queen Frigga.
"Sigyn, dear, how we have missed you here." her fellow Vanir smiled, skipping formalities and wrapping the princess in a motherly hug.
"I have missed being here as well." she sighed, letting herself relax a little. There was a reason Frigga was the most beloved woman in Asgard; her warmth and compassion never failed to bring comfort to those around her.
"Welcome, princess."
Odin's gruff voice drew her out of her embrace and into a more stately curtsy. "My king." she murmured, eyes downcast. If there was one person to blame for Loki's imprisonment it was him, yet she couldn't do that. While there were some parts of who Odin was that she didn't much care for, as a whole he was a good man and a better ruler. Blame for what had happened to her husband did not have an easy home. Thanos. Blame would be the one to pay.
"Take a seat." the Allfather said as he waved his hand at Thor, who promptly pulled out a chair for her.
The first part of the banquet passed in a blur. She caught Frigga up on the news of Vanaheim, discussed fighting tactics with Thor and ate Aesir-sized portions of the many dishes set out before her. Sigyn noticed that her family-by-marriage avoided the topic of her husband, which was both frustrating and appreciated.
When the servants began bringing out desserts she sighed and repressed the urge to roll her eyes. Now was the part of the banquet she dreaded most: the time for people to mingle between tables and talk to one another, which surely meant a swarm coming for her.
"My lady, I am so honored to meet you again." spoke a man in smooth tones as he bowed deeply.
"Lord Brandt." she nodded. "I am honored as well."
"And you do remember my son, do you not?" He pulled forward a young man who looked like he set young girls' hearts aflame. "Audun has done nothing but speak of your fair form; he and I both would take it as a great compliment if you would accept his offer to dine with him."
"I -" She stopped abruptly, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the people waiting in line to greet her. All of those in the front had one thing in common: a mother or father escorting a son. Her face hardened. Really? This was her first day back in Asgard, her husband was within walking distance and these people thought it was alright to court her? She stood.
"Sigyn, what are you…" Thor's whispered words faded into the background.
"People of Asgard." she called out. Her voice was clear and strong, but the undercurrent of rage was apparent. "You all know that I am Vanaheim's princess. But I am more than that - I am your princess still. And I am not a widow, or a maiden, or any sort of 'eligible young woman'; the fact that my husband is in prison does not make me any less married. So please, for the love of the Norns, do not try to shove your sons on me. I am not interested."
Sigyn sat back down though the fire still smoldered within her. Hopefully her words would be the end of it.
"My lady, I beg your pardon if I speak too boldly." said Lord Brandt cautiously, a look of concern on his face. "But you are too good for that, ah, 'man'. You deserve far better." he finished to mutters of agreement from those around him.
She rested the side of her head on her fingertips as she closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, reminding herself that setting this man on fire wouldn't help anyone. "You do not know him. None of you do." Each word was carefully controlled.
"But Princess Sigyn-"
"I love Loki and I carry his child within me." she snarled. "Is that not enough for you people?" She rose abruptly, grabbing Thor's arm as she did so. "We are leaving." Thor didn't fight her grasp as she stalked out of the hall, striding through the crowd like a tiger through a herd of deer.
"Those people are disgusting." Sigyn fumed once they were outside. "Treating me like I have no will of my own, treating our love like it does not exist, if I could I would-" she cut herself off when she noticed the look on Thor's face and when it dawned on her she felt a wave of embarrassment and shame rush through her body. "Oh. Now I am as bad as they think he was."
"He was that bad." her brother-by-marriage said gently, squeezing her arm. "You are just angry."
"No to both of those." she growled, though her words were less ferocious than they had been just moments before. "I am furious, not angry, and Loki is not the monster everyone believes him to be - actually, that is what I need to speak with you about." Calm, calm. Thor was not to blame here; he had always respected her, and she knew that he and Loki loved one another despite the way they frequently acted. "Do you know of Thanos?"
"I am not small-minded, Sigyn; everyone knows of Thanos. Why? Is he involved in this?"
"Yes." While she was no longer spitting fire, a colder anger had taken the place of her fury. "He twisted my love into attacking Midgard and now that monster has to pay for his crimes so that Loki may be free."
"Loki is not one to be easily bent." Thor pointed out. "Could he be lying?"
She shook her head. "No. He would not send me - he would not send our unborn child - chasing after a creature so dangerous as the Mad Titan if he were lying. And the pain in his voice, well, you cannot fake that kind of despair, Thor."
The warrior took a moment to think over what she had said. "He did seem….off in New York, but that does not mean he was entirely blameless for the attack."
"Entirely blameless, no, perhaps not, but we will not know if we do not find Thanos." He was starting to come around; good. She'd thought she might have to bring out the weepy wife routine, but it seemed her logic was enough for him.
"And once we find him - what then?"
"We overpower him and bring him back to Asgard to face justice."
"The two of us?"
"And a few others, if they will assist us. I do have somewhat of a plan, Thor; walk with me and I will tell you what I have in mind."
