If anyone wishes to see the dress Sigyn wears throughout the next two chapters it is in my profile :)
Chp.2-
Seven years later...
"There honey, you look beautiful," Lady Tyra cooed, pulling Sigyn up from her seat and toward the mirror. "Look, you are barely recognizable you're so lovely."
Sigyn studied her reflection reluctantly. Hating the way her hair was pinned back and the ornaments and makeup that adorned her, all so uncharacteristic of her usual appearance. While she would admit that they did make her rather stunning, she felt cheap and stupid.
"Wow, thank you Lady Tyra" Sigyn feigned, giving her stepmother an award winning smile, award winning for best fake. She felt she should have won some sort of a prize with how often she fooled this simple woman into believing she loved something she actually hated.
"Your father and brother will love this look, finally appearing as a real lady." Tyra smiled genuinely if not a bit snidely. "Not to mention all the potential suitors." The tall asgardian woman let loose a poorly stifled giggle. "If only you saw the looks they gave you, now they won't be able to look anywhere else."
Sigyn only kept pretending to smile, though as her stepmother rambled the act became harder and harder to keep up. She supposed she should have been flattered and pleased at Tyra's praise, but she was not. Sigyn was only annoyed and angry, as she was most days when around the woman.
Lady Tyra suddenly stopped in the midst of her babble that Sigyn had not been listening to. She glanced out the open bay doors at the darkening sky.
"Oh I better get going, still have a lot of work to do on my own appearance, " She stood and hurried toward the door, but paused after she pulled it open. "And do wear that white dress I picked out for you, all the maids are required to wear white for the ceremony." Sigyn did not bother this time to refrain from looking displeased. "Oh I do know how you loath any color that's not earthy but it won't kill you one night to wear white" Tyra snipped, her tone bearing the threating quality it often did when she was displeased. "For your brother." She added as an afterthought.
"I will" Sigyn quipped back. Lady Tyra gave her a warning stare and then a smile before closing the door behind her gently. "Only for my brother and never for you" she snarled once she was sure the woman could no longer hear her.
She sighed and moved away from the mirror to advance upon the dress. A lacy, thin white garment that was pretty in its own right, just not what she would have preferred. However, Tyra was right about one thing, it would not kill her. Although dealing with drunken relatives and Asgardians all night just might.
She moved away from the dress and out on to the balcony, staring over the sprawling city of Vanaheimr. Home to the Vanir and Nymphs and many others, beautiful in all its own wonderful, wild ways.
Her brother Sigdan was to marry that very night. Her obnoxious, bull headed, goof of a brother was to marry a slight Vanir girl in the palace that night. He should count himself lucky that the marriage had been arranged before King Njord's only son Freyr had died and Sigdan, as son of the brother of the king, became heir to the throne on Vanaheimr. If it had not he would most likely be marrying an Asgardian woman of noble birth to strengthen the bonds of the two kingdoms, much like their father had after their mother had died.
Moreover, as much of a laugh as Sigyn would have gotten out of seeing her brother wedded to an Aesir woman twice his size, she did not desire to see him miserable. She loved her brother incredibly and wished him happiness, not matter the rough patches in their relationship. There had been a time in her life that she thought him lost to her forever, but it turned out to be something called adolescence. As he grew and matured, he sought to rekindle their friendship and they had grown quite close once more. However, it would never be the same as it once had been and that was something both had just come to accept.
Sigyn stepped back into the room and closed the balcony doors behind her, latching them to make sure the wind did not tear them open again. She slipped off her current garments and into the unworn white dress. Twirling infront of the mirror she found that the dress was fairly appealing.
"Maybe this night won't be so bad," she whispered to no one. One more touch and she would be ready to go down and greet the royal guests before the wedding, as was expected of her.
She picked up and clasped on a pretty silver necklaces that had belonged to her mother. It was a simple piece of jewelry; just a string of delicately carved sliver leafs and vines, no jewels, no gold, just simple foliage. Though she had many trinkets form her mother, she felt this one embodied the deceased woman perfectly and Sigyn wore it whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Refusing to adorn anything else lest she start to feel like a dammed ornament herself, she stood and made her way to the door. The guest would be arriving soon and she would be expected to greet them, as the future king's lovely twin sister. The idea made her want to role her eyes and hide in her room all night.
However, there were a couple of things that made her close the door behind her and head down to the throne room without seconded thoughts. Primarily being the humiliation her brother would feel if she refused to attended, and seconded was the prospect of reuniting with old friends.
The minute she had heard that the queen of Asgard and her sons would be attending the wedding excitement had bloomed and been her ever present companion. Ever since that last visit to Asgard, not that she had known it would be her last at the time, she had longed to go back, to see her best, and only if she was truthful, childhood friend.
The years had been lonely with her brother distancing himself from her, and though she had for the most part quit her mischievous ways, the other children still did not favor her for fear of getting into trouble. She had few friends throughout her adolescence, most her stepmother having chased away. Eventually she just came to terms with being solitary, taking to keeping the company of animals instead and getting into very little trouble.
Sigyn loathed admitting it, but Lady Tyra had cowed her, tamed her, and brought her to her metaphorical knees. The woman was tall and imposing, and though she had rarely laid a hand upon either child, she had other ways of bending them. Like locking them in their rooms for hours and sometimes days if they did not behave. Or taking all of Sigyn's mother's things from her and refusing to return them until she went a month, and eventually a year, without incident.
Sigyn for a long time had loather the woman with an otherworldly depth. But as the years passed, and she began to behave more and more until she was the idle child, she found that Lady Tyra could be pleasing when she wanted to be. Tyra would talk about womanly things with Sigyn and do her hair and makeup just for fun, relishing in having a beautiful nymphin daughter to dress up like a doll and parade around.
But of course after every calm a storm must come to pass. Said storm had been in the form of a young suitor that Sigyn held no interest in, but Lady Tyra had adored. She had fought and brandished her teeth and snarled like a feral animal until Tyra had appealed to her father for accord. However, though Lord Naddr appeased his wife in many things, he did not in this and for that, Sigyn was eternally grateful.
Ever since then a certain animosity had grown between the two, though little else had changed. Sigyn guessed that after so many years of getting her way Lady Tyra had not liked being proven that she was not in charge. Sigyn did not give a dam, she would allow herself to be browbeaten and bullied into behaving, but not into an unwanted marriage. She was no one's trophy or ornament and would not be passed around as such.
The raucous sounds of the pre-ceremony feast were already loud enough to reach her ears at the top of the staircase that spiraled up to the royal family's chambers. Smiling she realized she must have been daydreaming on the balcony longer than she had thought. Ah well, Lady Tyra could not have everything her way.
She descended the stairs and entered the throne room to find it not as crowded as she would have guessed by the noise. However, her confusion was cleared up almost immediately as she came to notice the immense stature of all the occupants. About thirty or so asgardians filled the immense room with chatter, many with massive mugs of ale and wine already in hand.
She smiled and rolled her eyes, slowly making her way through the throng of people that all towered over her. She had to place her hands on many elbows for them to notice her and when they did, they seemed greatly surprised, but then please and moved aside for her to pass.
"Ah sister it is pleasant to see you" her brother greeted, smiling warmly he stood to embrace her from his group of friends. She wrapped her arms around him tightly; burying her face in his shoulder as nostalgia suddenly engulfed her. He had grown so much since there childhood and now stood seven inches taller then she, which granted was still no great height among most men since that added to about 5'4, but for a nymph that was pretty dammed tall. "You look stunning tonight," he whispered before releasing her.
A woman stood from the chair next to his and came forward with a shy smile. She was a pretty, slight thing with flaxen hair like spun silver and big blue eyes as clear as bath water.
Sigdan took the woman's hand and guided her forward. "This is my soon to be wife, Saga."
"It is a pleasure to meet you" Sigyn greeted hugging the girl affectionately as well. "My brother is truly honored to have such a beautiful Vanir for a wife."
"Oh thank you, but the honor is truly mine." Saga replied, beaming up at Sigdan who beamed back. Sigyn held in her chuckle forcibly, ah young Love, how it made her want to gag and coo at the same time.
Sigyn was distracted by a heavy hand falling onto her shoulder suddenly "So you have decided to show yourself after all Sigyn" Lord Naddr greeted with a smile in his voice, cheeks red and obviously on his way to being rather drunk. Lady Tyra stood beside him with a not amused expression painted on her pretty face. "I was wondering when you were coming down, come, greet our guests properly."
He linked his arm with hers and drug her away toward the Kings table, wasting no time at all to begin ruining her night. Not that he was aware he was doing such of course, her father was usually blissfully unaware he was making his kids miserable.
"Queen Frigga inquired about you earlier," He informer her, pulling Sigyn along through the asgardians. "She wished to know if you were attending, something about you being a delight as a child."
Sigyn's heart swelled "Well I was decent enough friends with her own children." She responded happily.
"That's funny, I remember you being a lot of trouble while there." He muttered more to himself then she as they approached the table the queen was seated at. She sat tall and beautiful just as Sigyn remembered her, hair coiled and layered into a unique style fit for the wedding, dress a glimmering off white. "Dear Lady Frigga, my daughter Sigyn."
Sigyn bowed politely as the queen stood and made her way around to greet her, the top of her head barley passed the queens shoulders.
"Oh my look at how beautiful you have grown up to be" the queen said, seemingly genuinely surprised. What was it with everyone being so shocked that she was actually pretty, it was starting to wound her ego. "It has been so very long since last I saw you; I've missed you and your brothers' laughter in the castle."
"Thank you, I've missed Asgard as well, for a while it had been my home away from home' Sigyn answered pleasantly. It had been true, with her only real friends residing there and there visits being as frequent as twice a month sometimes, Asgard had started to feel more like home than Vanaheimr. "I've longed to return for some time now."
The queen smiled brightly "Well you will have to soon" it was not a request but statement and Sigyn was glad for that. "Now come, greet my sons, they have been quite excited to see you again after so long." She did not pull Sigyn but gestured for her to follow, heading toward a group of young Asgardians only a few paces away.
Sigyn recognized the brothers immediately, for how could she not. Thor stood towering over all around him, save for a man with a ruddy red beard, he had truly grown into a goliath of a male. Brilliant blonde hair falling to his shoulders and adorned with red and silver armor appropriate for the fancy occasion.
Loki was just as noticeable, but really only due to being so dark. His hair was a as black as remembered and slicked back, clothing Just as dark with touches of ever present green, and he was pale. But he was still tall, the third tallest in the group and though slight, small was not a word that could be used to describe him.
Sigyn felt her heart flutter like a startled bird when she saw him and a memory she had forgotten until then surfaced in her mind, making her cheeks turn a deep maroon color. A memory of a little nymphin girl standing on tiptoes to kiss the cheek of the dark Asgardian prince, leaving a bit of blood in her wake from her broken lips.
"AHA! Volstagg you fool!" Thor boomed suddenly, body shaking with laughter, startling several people around them and making a slight grimace cross Loki's features. Sigyn wanted to laugh, as she could already see that little had changed.
"Thor! Loki!" Frigga hailed loudly, attempting to capture the attention of her sons. They both turned to her immediately, a wide grin stretched across Thor's face as per usual. "You remember Lady Sigyn; she used to frequent our home in your younger years, Lord Naddr's daughter and twin to Lord Sigdan."
Thor seemed confused for a moment but Loki caught on immediately, she did not miss the look of surprise that graced his features before he masked it. He moved forward to greet her politely, seeing that his brother was attempting the difficult task of thought.
"It has been many years Lady Sigyn, it is a pleasure to see you again after so long," he said softly, taking her hand to kiss the back politely. However, she noticed the way he touched her was as if he really did not want to, and his voice sounded very insincere, detached really, as if very uninterested.
"Yes, it has been a long time" she pulled her hand back slowly and he stepped back from her immediately. Then she turned to Thor and glared at his face. "Do you really not remember me, you big oaf." He looked into her eyes sternly, as if remembering something.
Realization graced his features and he beamed because if it. "Little Sigyn, how could I forget those eyes." He bellowed with joy, deep voice rolling the words around. "You have grown so much into a woman that I did not recognize you, though I see you have not grown much in height."
Her brows dipped into an immediate V of annoyance. "Well at least I have not become over grown, you Asgardians grow like weeds, you just get bigger and bigger every time I see you."
He chuckled mightily and patted her head, to which she actually took a bit of offence to. "You always could give my brother a run for his money with that tongue, though I think a blade would suite yours better than silver would."
She beamed, revealing her slightly pointed canines. "Well you always where good at getting cut."
"Lady Sigyn" a tall blond man moved forward, dressed in forest green. "It has been too long." He took her hand and kissed the back in a way that made him seem honestly happy to see her. "You look stunning tonight."
"Fandral!" she yelped suddenly as memory took her. "You're all grown up."
He frowned. "I was nearly grown last you saw me."
"No, you were not." Well she was sure his old nickname did not apply any longer, he had grown to be a good looking man. She looked at the other three members of the group, two other males and a dark haired woman, not recognizing any of them she did not greet them.
"Well, come my lady," Thor said, offering his arm. "Come have a drink with us before the ceremony."
She smiled and took it, but not before looking back for Loki, the one who had been completely silent during the exchange. Much to her disappointment, she found him nowhere in sight.