Author's Note: Hello everyone! I cannot express how happy I am to have followers after only two chapters, it is such a nice feeling. I was also very flattered by your kind review Reteka Hyuuga, I hope you continue to enjoy the story :) I only own Sigyn and her family, and as always helpful feedback is welcomed.
Sigyn's heart was pounding as she ran as quickly as she could down the corridor back to the banqueting hall.
"I just slapped a Prince…I just SLAPPED a PRINCE!" she panicked to herself.
If insulting a Prince landed you in the dungeon where would slapping one land you?
"Probably the executioners block…" she answered her own question morbidly.
She stopped in front of the doors to the banqueting hall and glanced around. No one seemed to be chasing her, but she doubted Loki had time to inform anyone of her actions yet. She pulled herself together as best she could, and entered the banqueting hall. She spotted her mother and father and immediately made as graceful a beeline to them as possible.
"Are we soon to depart?" She asked in an innocent tone.
"It is hardly after midnight and you already wish to leave?" Her father asked curiously.
Sigyn nodded. "I feel a little light-headed, and I am afraid I have consumed a little too much wine." She admitted. "I could unhitch one of the horses from the carriage and ride back by myself if you wish." She offered.
Halldor gave his daughter a worried look. "I am not sure that is the safest thing to do Sigyn…"
"I will be fine father, I promise. I simply suffer from a slight headache it is not as though I have drunk myself into a stupor." Sigyn pointed out.
"Signy?" Halldor asked his wife.
Signy gave Sigyn a rather blank look and sighed. "She will be fine." She finally determined.
Sigyn curtsied to her parents gratefully and began to head out of the grand hall. She was almost to the doors when the Queen stopped her.
"Are you and your family leaving so soon?" Frigga asked.
Sigyn immediately dropped into a deep curtsy in front of the Queen and shook her head 'no' while keeping her eyes cast respectfully to the ground.
"No My Queen, it is only me that is departing. My family intends to stay a while longer."
"Rise my child." The Queen encouraged in a kind tone. "There is no need to be so formal at such a party. Now tell me, is everything all right?"
"Yes, My Queen. I fear I have not developed a tolerance for the AllFather's wine yet." She excused.
"I see, and do you intend to walk home?" The Queen asked worriedly.
"No, I will take one of the horses from the carriage." Sigyn informed.
Frigga examined Sigyn's dress.
"I could have someone take you home if you wish. I am sure Loki is nearby and would appreciate the chance to slip away from the banquet…"
"No My Queen!" Sigyn interrupted suddenly.
Frigga gave Sigyn a questioning look, and Sigyn immediately cast her gaze to the floor once more while racking her brain for some excuse for her rude outburst.
"It is just… well I am fairly certain that I saw Loki with… with a girl earlier, and I would hate to interrupt him." She lied with a smile.
Frigga smiled at the lie, but didn't bother to contradict Sigyn.
"Well I am sure your horse is not saddled with a side-saddle, and you certainly cannot ride home like a man in a dress." She pointed out.
Sigyn smiled a genuine smile.
"I am sure I will be able to make do My Queen." She assured.
"Nonsense, I will not hear of you simply 'making due.' Follow me my dear." Frigga beckoned.
For the second time that evening, Sigyn had no option but to follow a member of the royal family to some unknown location. Fortunately she trusted the Queen's intentions where she hadn't trusted Loki's. Loki…the royal Prince she had physically assaulted, if you counted slapping as a physical assault.
"Perhaps I should tell the Queen what I've done. She is kind, maybe she would have mercy on me…" Sigyn contemplated while she followed Frigga down another hallway.
It wasn't long before they were standing in front of a door, and the Queen knocked firmly. There was no reply from inside so Frigga pushed the door open. The room was dark when Sigyn stepped in, but Frigga quickly lit the candles in the room with what Sigyn could only assume was magic. Frigga saw Sigyn's surprised look and smiled.
"Did you think Loki taught himself magic?" She asked in a teasing manner.
Sigyn just smiled. She had never really considered where Loki had learned magic; she just simply knew he could use it. Frigga headed over to a wardrobe and pulled the doors open.
"Now speaking of Loki… surely he has something in here that we can rig up to fit you…" she stated.
Sigyn almost fell over at the realization of whose room they were in. She watched silently as Frigga went through her youngest son's clothes. Eventually she gave an 'aha' of triumph and pulled out a pair of black knit pants and a deep green tunic.
"Why don't you hop into the bathroom and try these on." She instructed.
Sigyn did as she was told, and came out a few moments later her dress in hand and holding up Loki's pants.
Frigga chuckled.
"A bit big, but I think we can fix that."
She began to dig through the wardrobe again and pulled out a belt. She took Sigyn's dress from her before handing her the belt. She began to fold the garment as Sigyn pulled the pants up to where they reached above her bellybutton, and quickly wrapped the belt as tightly as she could on top of the tunic. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it would suffice to get her home. Their task complete, Frigga dimmed the candles and the two women left Loki's room. The Queen showed Sigyn to the doors that would lead her to the stables and smiled.
"I will hold on to your dress for you since it will be difficult to hold while riding. You can come pick it up from me when you come tomorrow to return Loki's clothes." She suggested.
Sigyn thanked the Queen for her kindness and promised to return the next day. After parting ways with Frigga, Sigyn asked the groomers the location of her family's carriage and unhitched one of the horses from it. The stable boy promised to fix the harness now that the carriage only had three horses, and Sigyn thanked him. There was no saddle for her to use, but fortunately she was a skilled rider so she could easily ride bareback. She mounted gracefully and cantered the entire way back to her family's estate. Her sudden arrival startled the sleeping stable boy, but she didn't wait for him to take the horse before heading inside the house. She made her way swiftly to her bedchambers, and didn't even bother pulling off Loki's clothes before grabbing her journal and beginning a new entry. She recorded every last detail of the evening she could recall before pulling out a piece of parchment and writing a simple note to Frida requesting her to come and speak with her once she got back. She took the note to her sister's room and slid it under the door. Sigyn's relationship with Frida had been a bit strained since the accident, but Sigyn knew Frida wouldn't let her down when it really mattered. Sigyn could trust her with the knowledge of what she had done to Loki, and hopefully Frida would be able to help her think of a way to avoid too much backlash for her rash actions.
Sigyn returned to her room and sat on her bed hoping her family would return soon. The house was eerily silent so every creak or noise from outside caused Sigyn to jump. Her heart raced at the thought that at any moment royal guards might come crashing through the door to drag her to the dungeons where she would await her trial and possibly execution. Sigyn took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Surely she was overreacting. Why would they waste prison space on such a harmless creature such as herself.
"Well you aren't that harmless, you did slap him." She reminded herself out loud.
Loki must have been jesting when he said insulting a Prince was punishable by a trip to the dungeons, but the look in his eyes had been so serious…
"He is known for his tricks though…" She observed.
Loki was supposedly a good liar, so it was very likely that he had been lying to her so he could more easily manipulate her. Sigyn began to inwardly curse herself for her stupidity. Of course he had been playing with her, the entire evening had been one large game for him. She had been well aware of that fact early on, but too much wine had clouded her judgment. Loki was probably having a merry time telling Thor and all of his friends what a fool he had made of her. Sigyn's blood began to boil at the thought of his smug grin, and she suddenly had the urge to ride straight back to the palace and slap him again. The whole thing had been a game, but she was comforted by the fact that she had gotten the better of him at least once. He had not expected her to slap him. The shock shone clearly in his deep green eyes, and Sigyn congratulated herself for at least having the sense to do that. So what if he was a Prince, he could have been the AllFather himself, and Sigyn still would have slapped him. How dare he think that just because he is royalty he can kiss her without her permission! She had slapped him once, and given the opportunity to go back she would have done so again.
Seconds, minutes, and hours trickled by, and before Sigyn knew it she had drifted off to sleep. Persistent knocking on her door finally awoke her with a start, and Sigyn remembered that Frida was supposed to be coming to see her.
"Come on in!" Sigyn beckoned, and Frida slipped in through the door.
Sigyn must have looked pretty disheveled because Frida gave her a disapproving look.
"What in Odin's name are you wearing?" She asked while coming to sit on Sigyn's bed.
"A set of Prince Loki's clothes." Sigyn replied.
Frida look as if she might fall off the bed in surprise.
"Whose clothes!?"
"Prince Loki's…"
Frida shook her head. "Do I even want to know why?" She asked.
Sigyn smiled. "It is an innocent enough explanation." She assured.
"Start from the beginning…" Frida sighed.
"From the beginning of why I am wearing Prince Loki's garments or the beginning of why I asked you to come see me?"
"Whichever came first I suppose." Frida responded.
Sigyn nodded and began her tale. Frida was an attentive listener, and allowed Sigyn to get through the story uninterrupted despite the apparent urge she had to comment at several points during the story. Once Sigyn was finished with her narrative Frida burst out into laughter.
"You actually slapped him? That is wonderful Sigyn!"
"It is hardly wonderful Frida, I could be in serious trouble."
"You won't be in any trouble. Do you seriously believe that Prince Loki will tell anyone that he was slapped by the girl he was trying to woo? He would be the laughing-stock of the court!"
Sigyn's heart ached a little at that assessment though she wasn't sure why.
"Don't say that Frida… that is a cruel sentiment."
"A cruel sentiment? More like honest, and don't look at me like that… I am not the one who slapped him."
Sigyn brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "So you don't think I will be in trouble?"
Frida rolled her eyes, but responded kindly. "No one is going to throw you in the dungeon Sigyn. Prince Thor and Prince Loki have no real power in the court aside from their status. Even if Loki did want you dead, which I highly doubt he does, it is not as if he could call for your execution. What he can do is try to make your life miserable by playing tricks on you constantly, but even that will cease eventually."
Sigyn smiled at Frida's words. She knew she had overreacted, but it was nice to hear confirmation from Frida.
"Thank you Frida."
Frida took Sigyn's hand and squeezed it. "You're welcome… so are you really going back to the palace tomorrow?"
"I gave the Queen my word, so yes, I will be going back."
Frida left the bed and went to the door, but before she left she gave Sigyn one parting piece of advice.
"Just try to avoid Prince Loki for a little while, and everything will blow over as if it had never happened."
"I'll try." Sigyn promised, but as she curled up on her bed and drifted to sleep she couldn't help but think that it would never truly blow over.