Shirahoshi - Thanks for reading and for correcting me on spelling.

Anna - Thank you for reading

Chapter 2

The scene was the small dining area in the chambers Loki shared with his wife, the place where they took their meals together when not gathering in the grand banquet hall with his family. Loki was already dressed in his armor, ready to take his place on the throne of Asgard for the day. Sigyn sat opposite him dressed in rose colored satin. Her long raven locks were pulled away from her face with two jeweled combs and woven into a thick braid that hung down her back. She looked like a queen, and had been for that moment. Sigyn delicately lifted fruit to her lips with a fork as she glanced up at her husband, discreetly studying him. Loki didn't make eye contact, the thoughts tumbling through his head causing him to push his food around his plate more than eat. Usually their meals had been animated times, filled with stories or chatter about magic, their shared passion. But on this morning, silence had stretched between them like a wall.

"You are very quiet, Husband."

"What have I done to earn your ire, that you call me 'Husband'?" Loki's voice sounded harsh, even though he hadn't meant to snap at her. Being referred to as "husband" usually meant he had wronged her and would be barred from their bed until he repented. "Silence suits me right now."

A gentle smile curved her lips. "I am simply confirming that you still want that position," she replied. "I have seen little of you the past days."

Loki looked up, catching a glimpse of concern in her bright blue eyes. "I am yours for as long as you will have me," he whispered softly, wondering if she sensed the insecurity behind the simple admission. The truth of his heritage was a gaping wound. He hadn't shared it with her yet, certain she would only see him as a Frost Giant and want no part in their marriage. "I apologize. My mind has been burdened. There is much to ruling a kingdom, especially with Thor banished and Father in the Odinsleep."

"You are more than capable of seeing Asgard through this time of need," Sigyn encouraged.

"Thor's friends don't seem to think so," Loki spat. "They have already petitioned me to lift his banishment."

"And do you plan to?"she asked.

"As I explained to them, my first act as king cannot be to undo Father's last act? Others doubt my ability to rule - how many more would if my first act as king was to go running to my older brother so he could return to Asgard and relieve me of the burden of the throne?"

"You will do a fine job, and then your father and all of Asgard will see that you are just as worthy of the throne as Thor."

Abruptly, Loki pushed away from the table, the chair toppling as he stood up. "The line of succession fell to me under highly unusual circumstances. Odin will never see me as worthy of the throne - at least not this throne." Loki's voice fell to a whisper as he approached the window. As he looked out over Asgard, the only home he had ever known, he wondered how long Odin had planned to seat him on the throne of Jotunheim - raised to be a king indeed. Questions still spun through his mind. His father said that circumstances had changed, but what did he mean? The only answers were trapped within the Odinsleep, perhaps never to wake.

Loki was so lost in thought that he startled when Sigyn approached from behind and wrapped her slight arms around him. "Mischief," she said softly. "What else are you not telling me?"

Loki turned to face her. A lie quickly formed on his lips, but he pushed it away. She would find out eventually. "On Jotunheim, I was touched by a frost giant but not burned," he began. "I was curious and sought out the Casket. Odin found me there and revealed to me that he took me as a baby from Jotunheim. I am ... I am Laufey's son."

"Why would you jest, when times are already so difficult?"

"I only speak the truth," Loki admitted. Clasping her hands in his own, he looked into her eyes and willed her to see that he was not lying.

Sigyn gazed at him for a moment, scrutinizing him. "You are telling the truth."

"I understand if you would like to be released from your vows," Loki said hurriedly. He held his breath as he waited for the answer, hoping for her acceptance and fearing her rejection.

"And why would I chose that?"

"Word will get out ... you will be despised," Loki pointed out.

"My reputation already suffers ... I am married to Mischief and Lies, but that matters not to me. I love you, and you know that well."

"And what of the fact that the only children I can give you will be half monsters ... like their father? Do you truly wish to bring a child into such a pitiful existence?"

Sigyn's breath caught, a hand dropping to brush along her abdomen. "How dare you." Her bright blue gaze, always full of warmth for him hardened, freezing to icy gray. Yes, he had angered her before, but never had he seen such fury in her eyes.

At that moment, he heard the Bifrost activated in the distance. Next, a loud knock rumbled the chamber doors. "Yes," he snapped as he flung the door open to the startled guards. Truly, their timing couldn't be worse.

"My liege, the Warriors Three and the Lady Sif have gone missing."

"Thank you. I will handle the matter myself," he replied, dismissing the guard. Loki turned back to his wife. "I will return later."

"You're going ... now?" Sigyn asked in disbelief, arms now wrapped protectively around her midsection.

"I am truly sorry, Wife," he said sharply. She was not the only one who could express displeasure in titles. "Asgard's truce with Jotunheim is precarious and Heimdall has just betrayed me. As much as I was looking forward to it, I do not have time for an argument at this moment," he spat sarcastically.

"Of course," Sigyn replied with a nod of her head. While her features calmed and her posture relaxed, the ice never left her gaze. Venom dripped from her voice as she continued to speak. "You have duties to attend to ... My King."

The vision froze as he turned to leave. Loki dropped his head in shame. He had never returned. By evening, he had fallen from the Bifrost and left her a widow. Had he known, there is so much he would have said, or rather, not said. It was sheer torture knowing this was the last memory they had of each other.

"I did not realize your wife was so beautiful," Thanos said in a tone that made Loki shudder. He looked up to see the titan close to the frozen memory, stroking a finger down Sigyn's cheek.

"Do not touch her," Loki warned.

"Or what?" Thanos laughed, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Do you think The Goddess of Fidelity still mourns you? Perhaps when I inhabit your body, I could visit. Overjoyed at your return, would she suspect it wasn't truly you and invite the enemy into her bed?"

Thanos ghosted his fingers up her neck before his thick hands clamped down and snapped her neck. Loki slammed against the barrier raised by his seiðr, rage enveloping him.

"What would that final betrayal feel like, to die at her husband's hand?

Loki opened his eyes, shaking his head against the grotesque image that twisted his memory. Sullied hands reached up to wipe warm streams of tears from his face.

The door slammed open again, and the Other entered. Loki looked for the customary knout, only to see a slender stick. His eyes widened at the new device, wondering what the creature was playing at.

"We wouldn't want these sessions to become boring or predictable for you, now." Loki's hands were pulled up high again, right before the stick was driven into his back, releasing a jolt of electricity through his body. He nearly bit through his tongue at the shock, blood gushing from his mouth as he clenched his mouth shut and bid his body not tremor. The stick made contact again and his body spasmed, reminding him of the time he had inadvertently got between Mjonir and her target during battle. Mother said he had been fortunate to survive. He screamed out with the next strike, closing eyes in resignation. It was time.

Loki glared at Thanos through the green haze of his seiðr. He knew the war was far from over, but it was time to concede this battle. With a deep breath and heavy heart, he stepped back to his mark and allowed his seiðr to retreat to him, Thanos' haze eagerly eating up the space left behind.

"You belong to me, now," Thanos boasted. "We will conquer Midgard, and then Asgard, together."

"You will never have all of me," Loki replied

"We shall see."


It was midday on Asgard, and the golden city gleamed in the distance. Frigga sat contentedly on the sofa in her daughter-in-law's chambers watching the young woman gaze out the balcony window. The past year had been hard on them all, but especially hard on the two women who had loved Loki most.

Frigga never would have guessed that her younger son would marry first. His courtship with Sigyn had seemed more like a game at first, and she highly suspected Loki's main goal had been to find his way into the young woman's bed, not marry her. However, had met his match and fallen for the young goddess, and Frigga couldn't have been happier.

"You seem lost in your thoughts, Dear," said, inviting her to speak what was on her mind.

Sigyn took a moment to respond, startling out of her ruminations. "I am sorry to be poor company. Here you were thoughtful enough to visit, and I have greeted you with silence."

"Nonsense," Frigga replied. "But if I might ask, what has so preoccupied your mind?"

"I at times wonder if it would have been different had I told him," Sigyn admitted.

Frigga glanced down into her arms, meeting the very sleepy gaze of her grandson. Eyelids fluttered down over deep green eyes that looked so much like Loki's only to dart back open quickly in panic. "Shhh," she soothed as she gently rocked the child.

"It was on the tip of my tongue when he left our chambers, but I was so angry," Sigyn continued. "Would it have been enough?"

"Those are the sorts of thoughts that could drive one mad if not careful, Child," Frigga admonished gently. A slight smile curved her lips at her grandson's eyelids finally closed completely. The child's breathing changed and his small body grew heavier in her arms. "And, he is finally asleep."

"Truly?" Sigyn asked in obvious relief.

"Yes."

"You are a worker of miracles."

"No, I simply have greater experience," Frigga replied. "Unfortunately for you, Nari has inherited his father's temperament. Loki was every bit as difficult as a baby." The goddess took a deep breath and reigned in the sorrow that threatened to erupt when she thought of the boy she had raised. "Now go put him in his crib so you can rest."

Sigyn gently leaned down and took her son into her arms. Humming lightly, she continued to rock the baby as she disappeared down the hallway.

Frigga leaned back, resting her head against overstuffed cushions. Nari was indeed a soothing balm to her soul after Loki's death, but she still missed her son. Her eyes drifted closed.

Thick fog closed in around her. The swirling eddies twirled around, almost protesting her intrusion. Where was this place and why was she here? Frigga lifted her hand, a ball of golden seidr sprang from her fingertips and floated ahead of her to light her way. She paused to run a hand along the spines of heavy tomes on a book shelf. Her breath caught at the simple realization that she knew this place. She had been thinking of him.

"Loki!" she called out as she quickened her pace. It couldn't be true, yet if the link that had formed when she had calmed his mind as a child still existed ... maybe.

Frigga finally found her way into a corner room. Her heart broke as she glimpsed the dejected figured spared from darkness by his own green seiðr. "Loki?"

"Mother?" he asked in hopeful surprise. He acted wary as though he expected it to be a trick. Understanding, she allowed her seiðr to flow over his so that he could sense her own magic. "It really is you," he murmured before panic over took him. "You can't stay. It's not safe."

"Where are you at?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But, I need you to listen. Something terrible is coming, and I will be at the center of it."

"That usually happens," Frigga said. "Is this supposed to surprise me?"

"This is different, Mother," Loki said with a seriousness that didn't suit him. "I am under another's control."

"Who controls you?" she asked in outrage.

"Thanos," Loki replied, and her heart sank. "He seeks the Tesseract and to lay ruin to Asgard."

"I will inform your father," Frigga said firmly. "And I will have Heimdall cast his sight to its limits to search for you."

"I'm afraid, Mother," Loki admitted shamefully. " It requires all my effort and energy to maintain this small quadrant of my mind. If he takes any more, I will be but a mindless shell. I would rather death come than ..."

"You must be strong," Frigga said. "Sigyn needs you ... she was with child .. you have a son."

"Son?"

" Nari is beautiful." Frigga could see the anguish in her son's face, before it morphed into quiet, calculated determination. With a nod of his head, his countenance changed, reminding her more of the Loki she knew and not the broken man she had glimpsed upon first entering the room.

"Godling!" Thanos boomed in the background. "Time has come to fulfill your role."

"You must go, Mother," Loki said softly. "If he finds you here, he will use you against me."

"Stay strong." Frigga smiled as she pressed a hand against Loki's fortress. Golden seiðr flowed from her fingertips, intertwining with Loki's and reinforcing him. "Know that you are loved."

"If something should happen," Loki said. "Tell Sigyn I love her and I am sorry."

Frigga's eyelids fluttered open. Sigyn kneeled next to the sofa, resting a hand on her forehead. She could feel the young woman's seiðr flowing over her.

"A vision?" Sigyn asked softly.

"No," Frigga replied. She hurriedly sat up and took Sigyn's hands in her own. "Loki's alive?"

"Are you well, My Queen?"

"He is alive"

"I don't understand." Sigyn put a trembling hand to her mouth. "Where is he?"

"He is being held captive." Frigga stood. "I must speak to Odin and Heimdall." She leaned over and rested a hand on the side of her daughter-in-law's face. "We will find him and bring him home," she said with firm conviction.