Her throat was filled with bile.
Nanna had insisted it was just nerves, pre-wedding jitters. It happened to everyone, even Queen Frigga.
But Sigyn knew better, it was not wedding jitters. It was the overwhelming feeling of utter despair, the feeling of being trapped.
Nanna brushed her long gold hair, twirling the long locks around her finger before placing a tiara of the prettiest flower Sigyn had ever seen on top of her head. Her eyes had lost their redness, and were now big and blue. Her eyelashes were long and her cheeks were pink. Her lips pink, too.
For the first time in her life, she felt beautiful. But what a pity it was that her emotions didn't match.
Her dress was also white, as was tradition amongst the Asgardians. It was tight around her top and flowed into a full skirt, flowers made a band around her middle, also pink to match her face.
Yes, she looked beautiful and felt it too, in her mind. But in her heart she felt sick, she felt dark and malicious for going through with this wedding, knowing full well she did not share any feelings for Theoric.
Freya knocked upon the door, and was answered to immediately by Syn, Sigyn glanced over her shoulder and noticed the scowl on her mothers face, she rose from her chair and made her way over.
"Mother, is something wrong?"
"No time, my daughter. We must go. We are late!" Freya muttered grasping Sigyn's hand. Syn, Sjofn and Nanna followed behind with the baskets of flowers and handfuls of Sigyn's long trailing dress.
"This was not how it was supposed to be.." Sigyn heard Freyja mutter, she raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any further. Not even Odin could understand the way her strange mind worked, most people assumed she was still overcome with the absence of Od, her newest husband. Sigyn had only met him a few times as he was nearly always gone, much like her mother. She found herself hoping that her marriage would be like theirs, as horrible as it sounded.
The impending doom of her life seemed to grow closer and closer as they approached the great hall. A frown on her face, she managed to mask it with a small smile as the doors opened and the beautiful music drifted through.
At the end of the hall was Odin, the Allfather, in his finest robes. To his side was Queen Frigga, the most beautiful woman in Asgard despite her age.
Thor, was to his right, standing above his father, but there was no Loki.
At least that was one distraction she needn't worry about. Instead she looked to Theoric, the great bumbling man looked fine in his golden armour, his handsome face was clad in his golden helmet and a firm smile was upon his face.
Freya's hand drifted from Sigyn's as she went to join her father, Iwaldi at the front of the crowd. The small dwarf looked as though he was crying, or about to. She had never seen her father cry and assumed it was out of pride.
Theoric and Sigyn both fell to their knees, as was custom, and held each others hands. Odin, the Allfather stood in front of them as he began to recite the vows he had omitted more times than Sigyn would be able to count.
"Theoric Aigersson."
"Aye."
"Do you, Crimson Arrow, take Sigyn of Vanaheim, to be yours faithfully until Ragnorak rains down upon us?"
Theoric nodded, his smile grew even wider and the pride in his eyes swelled, "Aye, Allfather."
"And do you, Sigyn of Vanaheim, lady of Asgard, take Theoric Aigersson, Crimson Arrow, to be yours faithfully until Ragnorak rains down upon us?"
Sigyn nodded, taking a deep breath before breathing out, "Yes, Allfather."
"Then by the power of the House of Odin and the nine realms, you are to be bonded forever more."
Frigga stepped forward and draped a thick green ribbon upon their hands, winding around their joined fists before it began to set alight, until they were holding a bright red burning fire in their hands which quickly turned to smoke, the shards of ribbons melting into their skin before disappearing completely.
That was it.
She was married.
Bound to Theoric until the end of the world.
Theoric rose to his feet, pulling Sigyn with him as she enveloped her in his strong arms, pressing a kiss to her lips. She didn't respond, but he didn't take notice. Instead he only pulled away with a larger smile on his face than she had ever seen.
The crowd erupted into cheers as Theoric lifted his hand, his fellow soldiers crying out in glee. The cheers didn't stop as Thor strode towards them, placing a kiss on Sigyn's hand and bowing towards Theoric. The happiness did not stop, well. The happiness of others did not stop. Sigyn's happiness had not yet surfaced, and she assumed it never would.
The celebrations began at once and she found herself drifting from person to person as they offered her congratulations, she tried her best not to talk for too long and muttered a half-hearted 'thank you' and slunk away. Big crowds and lots of people were not her thing, she could not talk to people with ease and found herself freezing up at any given moment, her legs almost falling from beneath her a few times. It was lucky that Theoric would not leave her side, otherwise she would have fallen face first into a puddle of her own tears from utter fright.
Theoric's mother hadn't let her go when they had arrived at their corner of the hall, she had enveloped the tiny Sigyn into her huge arms and not let go for minutes on end. She had felt short of breath when his mother had finally pulled away and she was sure she now smelled of ungodly sweat. But then again, Theoric wasn't exactly the sweetest smelling person in Asgard, or Vanaheim for that matter. But she would have to grow used to it, her hidden grimace and look of sadness wasn't for anyone to see but herself in the mirror.
And the end of the celebrations could have not come quicker, she had nearly fainted with joy when Theoric announced that they were to leave and retire to their chambers for the night, as was custom. The crowd had given a cheered and Theoric's fellow soldiers had raised their glasses in triumph as he swept Sigyn of her feet, much to her chagrin. Even more of a spectacle had been made of her.
Theoric had pushed open the doors to the chambers they were to stay in and retreated to the side room, what was in that room she didn't not know and did not care to find out. Instead she sat at the edge of the bed, staring down at the band of flowers she had taken from around her waist. They looked so beautiful, fresh, pure, untainted - the list could go on. She would never tire of looking at them, she mad made them herself from different belongings she had found discarded in the rooms of Noatun. A smile welled on her face as she thought of her home, a home which she would never go back to. But there was no use in crying about it now. What was done, was done.
She heard her husband step into the room once more, and she dragged her eyes from the beautiful band of flowers to the place where he stood.
It was then that her breath caught, and she felt as if her heart would stop in its tracks.
"W-where is Theoric?" She whispered, her eyes turning into narrow slits as she watched the smirk rise on his face.
"Asleep, in the forest. He should not return until midday tomorrow, I have made sure."
"But, I was to marry him today, Idid marry him!" She cried, her hands flying up to her face as her head began to swim.
"Ah, but you did not."
"Loki?" She whispered, her hand reaching out to his form. A smirk rose to his face as he took a step closer, his green eyes twinkled and his skin was pale and perfect in the moonlight.
"Wife."
Slowly, almost as if he was teasing her, he began to make his way around the bed. Her eyes drifted up and down his form. He was dressed in his finest, the horned helmet under his arm and his green robes were as smart as ever.
"But, your betrothed.." She mumbled, her hands finding their way into the material of his clothes as she pulled him down gently to sit next to her.
"She does not matter, we are wed. Nothing can be said or done about." His arms encircled her waist and brought her close to him, so close she could smell his musky scent. A lazy smile appeared on her face as Loki traced his long and slender fingers along her back, he leaned closer and pressed a kiss to her temple before whispering in her ear, causing shivers to go up her spine. "Do not keep me waiting, Princess Sigyn."
She could barely even blink before his lips brushed her own, her eyes flickered closed as she melted into him, her hands finding their way into his slick black hair.
Sigyn had never imagined her wedding night to be like this, it wasn't even in her wildest dreams. But she would not change it for the world. What had possessed Loki to take Theoric's place, she would never know. But she didn't want to know, that would ruin it. That would taint it. And she didn't want anything to ruin this night.
"Loki.." She pulled away, her lips already starting to swell, "What of Theoric? What if they realize he was not.. present?"
"No one will find out till morning, my Sigyn. We are to be together until then." He replied, already starting to slip her dress off with his own impatient hands. "But, you must promise me one thing, Sigyn."
"Yes?" She whispered, his dark eyes bore into hers and she suddenly felt vulnerable, totally exposed to a man who had tricked her into marriage. She should hate him, beg him to leave her be but she did not, and she would not. A strange sensation came upon her as she watched his face. She had never realized how handsome he was, and how precise and graceful his movements was. All of a sudden she didn't want to be apart from him, she grasped onto the material of his robes and pulled herself closer to him.
"You will be loyal." He hissed, his fingers digging into her back until she let out a yelp, "You must promise you will be loyal, you will not leave me. That is all I ask of you, Sigyn. All I ask"
"I will do whatever you ask." The words tumbled from her mouth as if she had been waiting for an age to say them, the grin that rose to his face she would never be able to describe, nor the fire that lit behind his eyes.
She sighed and closed her eyes once more. She would not let anything ruin this night. This may be the only happy night she would share with her husband, even if it had occurred in the most peculiar, and sly circumstances. And any thoughts that may have made her felt different disappeared as soon as his lips touched hers.
"And Sigyn?" He breathed, already removing her dress from her body until she was wearing nothing but her underclothes.
"Yes?" She squirmed underneath him, feeling so exposed was new to her and she had no clue how to act, she had never been in the company of a man before like this, and she knew that Loki had bedded more women than she could count, it made her feel like a little child and for the first time she couldn't tell if it was him, or the silvery words of the Lie-Smith she was hearing.
"You looked beautiful."
And for the thousandth time in his company, she blushed.
Wow, what an influx (I think that's the right word?) of reviews.
I'm so glad about the positive response to this, so thank you to those who had reviewed and to those who have added this to their favourites or who have alerted this, it means lots and lots!
The story gets a bit slower from here on in, I just wanted to show what kind of a person Loki is, making long standing plans and preparing everything he does I guess. Yet somehow making them seem spur of the moment, I guess it's part of his Loki-esque charm? Haha.
Anyway, please review! It makes my day every time, and I love to hear what people think of this. If there's anything you think I can improve on (I know there's loads) please please pleaaassee tell me, I want this to be as good a story as I can make it and any criticism (providing it's not mean/degrading etc) or ideas are welcome! x
